


Disturbance

by violet_sunflowers



Series: The Energy Never Dies [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Found Family, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kidnapping, Magic, Magic Revealed, On the Run, Self-Destructive Tendencies, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Worth Issues, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, Suicidal Ideation, Suicidal Thoughts, Tommy is Elsa, Tommy-centric, TommyInnit-centric, Trench coats, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, Winged Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), american setting but not really, energy, escape artist tommyinnit, except not really, he gets caught like every time, more tags to be added soon, no beta we de like me when I wrote over 5000 words in a day., no beta we die like men, no seriously im so dead, not explicitly said but he doesn't mind dying, sleepy bois inc - Freeform, theif tommyinnit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:53:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 41,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28510722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violet_sunflowers/pseuds/violet_sunflowers
Summary: Tommy has been running for four years and he doesn't plan on stopping,It takes one stolen wallet and suddenly he finds himself in a family. Suddenly, he has answers. For the first time in a very long time, he's given a purpose, a home.Secrets are uncovered, hidden truths revealed and new bonds are formed.(in which Tommy is spoon-fed the found family trope, and also might have murderers after him.)
Relationships: Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Tubbo & Tommyinnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: The Energy Never Dies [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2162472
Comments: 161
Kudos: 1062
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my frst fic in this fandom. have big plans so hopefuly you enjoy,

Tommy walked out o the alleyway, backpack casually slung over his shoulder. He looked both ways before quickly turning right. He sighed as he left behind the alleyway that had served as his home for the past week, he would miss it, but he had to keep moving. He learned very early on that staying anywhere for more than a few days was trouble. But he couldn’t resist staying this time. There was an old mattress and beat-up blanket under a wide plank of wood that had made for an excellent shelter. There was even a bakery down the street that left out all the unsold goods from the past week just out on a table.

All in all probably one of the best weeks from the past four years. He knew he wasn’t going to luck out again for at least another few years, if ever. But he couldn’t stay, it was too dangerous.

He kept walking mentally counting up the change he had managed to find, he needed to go to another town. He could probably walk there but he wanted to end the week on a high note, and that meant treating himself to a bus ticket.

When he checked his pockets however he found that he was a few dollars off. Oh well, that just meant it was time to activate pickpocket mode. He headed to the nearby park staying closer to where the few food carts were set up. He kept an eye on the patrons taking note of who used cash vs card. Unfortunately, everyone who used cash seemed to be alone, that was an issue. In his experience, people in smaller groups were easier to pick-pocket Than people who were solo. He didn’t really know why, and he didn’t care too.

Finally, his eyes landed on the perfect victims. A father and who he assumed to be his sons. The father had blonde hair and a green and white striped bucket hat. One of the bys had brown hair and a red beanie and the other had pink hair done up in a long braid. He watched as the blonde pulled out a plain brown leather wallet and paid for three drinks and put the wallet in the left pocket of his jacket. Perfect.

He watched as they made their way out of the park towards the left side of town. He followed them at a distance making sure to keep them in his line of sight.

Finally, he saw his opportunity. He was a few feet behind them at a crosswalk when he carefully reached into the older man’s pocket and plucked the wallet out. He was about to turn away when the brunette turned around and caught his wrist.

He yanked his wrist away and took off. They were in his turf, a chase in a concrete jungle like this was nothing new to him. He leaped over and overturned barrel making sure to kick it back. He could hear the footsteps behind him falter, smiling to himself he sped up jumping onto a drain pipe and quickly climbing it. He could hear them yelling at him from down below but he ingored it. Thankflly the building wasn’t too tall and he made it to the top easily.

He opened the wallet and found a few 20$ bills in it. He pulled them and the coins out before filling one of the pockets with gravel from the rooftop. He stood up and walked to the edge of the building. He always tried to give back cards and the wallets themselves. They were useless to him anyways.

“Hey idiots,” he yelled.

The pink haired boy looked up at him alerting the other two.

“What do you want,” the brunette asked cupping his hands around his mouth clearly annoyed.

“I mean, I was gonna give you your wallet back but if you don’t want it…” Tommy called loftlily.

The brunette clenched his fist and looked about ready to climb up there and fight Tommy but the pink-haired boy put a hand on his shoulder before he took a step.

“Just give it back,” the blond man said calmly.

Tommy tossed down the wallet happy to have gotten a rise from someone. He watched as the brown leather made its way down. He made sure to aim it as best he could like he usually did in these situations. He never missed. When t got close enough the pink-haired one plucked it out of the sky with an odd look on his face.

Tommy decided that it was a good time to leave so he backed away from the edge and faced the building next to the one he was currently on. With a running start he leaped onto it. Years of being on the streets and on the run gave him a much needed edge when it came to athletics. Rooftop hopping was probably his favourite. Once he slowed down abt he found the next building. He ran and jumped again. Over and over he kept going at it, eventually finding a rythim.

When the sun started to set he found himself a nice rooftop to sleep on. It would only be for the night though. As much as he liked sleeping up high he had almost gotten caught on rooftops a few too many times. He set his backpack down as a pillow and fell asleep.

When he woke up he decided to take stock of what he had and what he would need to collect. He opened the main part of his backpack and had a look. A change of clothes that were a tad small, an almost empty waterbottle, a toothbrush and an empty tube of toothpaste and a bear plushie he’d had since he was a child. He checked his other pockets and found that his food stores were low. He munched on a granola bar as he counted out his money. He needed toothpaste and food. Neither of them were hard t get, nor were they particularly expensive, but food was tricky. He needed nutrients, and a lot of it. The problem was that things like produce were really expensive and didn’t keep for very long. Things like granola bats were his he best friend even though he was sure he was deficient in most vitamins.

He set off for an early stroll wondering what kind of foods he should get. He eventually decded to go back to the park from yesterday. He sat under a tree enjoying the sunshine. He was just people-watching today. After a while he just zoned out.

Suddenly he spotted a long black trench-coat out of the corner of his eye. He froze. This is what he had been running from. He subtly looked around the park spotting more trench-coats than he had ever seen before.

He didn’t know who the trench-coats were or why they were after him, all he knew was that they wanted him. When he was younger he used to bounce around foster homes. He didn’t know who his parents were nor anything about them. When he was twelve he started noticing the coats around him. Then one day one of them came in and claimed to want to take him home. Something inside of Tommy woke up that day. He got violent in the group home before the coat had a chance to sign the papers. He was kicked out and sent to a different one after that. Another coat showed up at his new home a few months later. He got violent again. It happened one more time before Tommy decided to run. He packed his things and never looked back.

* * *

He looked around the park plotting his escape. He didn’t understand how they always found him. He had run across the country more than once and. He lived in forests and hidden caves, he found temporary homes with families and in small motels when he had the money. But they always found him. No matter how far he ran, no matter how many rivers he crossed or caves he carved out. They always found him. HE had long since resigned himself to life on the run. He accepted the fact that he would never have a home. He wasn’t happy, but he hoped that one day he would find a way to be happy.

Seeing an opening in the coats defenses he took it and ran. He ran into the heart of the city knowing it would be easy to lose them. He ran around city square towards the bus station. When he got in front of the doors he hesitated. He didn’t like sneaking onto trains, not only did it make him feel guilty, but it also made him really nervous. He had the money to pay for a ticket too. But paying for a ticket was just as risky, if not riskier than sneaking on.

Making up his mind he ran towards the back. When he had first arrived in the city he had walked around the building and found a path without any security cameras. He darted around the building carefully sticking to piles of timber and dumpsters before sprinting on a bus. He sat down in the back and quickly pulled his hood down and rested his head on his backpack in order to look asleep.

This was life on the run, this was his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy rolls into a new town ready for some R&R

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in a day. That's the first time I've ever done that, and probably the last. This is all I've done all day. But I also really want to get the ball rolling wit this. This chapter is quite a bit longer than intended, but that's good.

He woke up a few hours later. The bus ride had been bumpier than normal. But he wouldn’t complain. Whatever got him away from the coats. He scanned the area already scouting out potential places to sleep. It was a small town. A breath of fresh air in comparison to the cities he always seemed to find himself in. Advantages and disadvantages, smaller towns like this had less police and generally less security. Unfortunately, the buildings were generally lower to the ground and more spaced out. Rooftop escapes were a no go here. Although he had spotted a small forest nearby. He preferred buildings to trees but they would do in a pinch. He saw a low-security grocery store and saw an opportunity to pick up some fruit. Whether he or not he would pay for it remained to be seen. 

When the bus stopped he ran out not wanting anyone to stop and asking for his non-existent ticket. He walked around the town taking in the sights. The main road had everything he needed. A grocery store, a bakery and even a convenience store. It was a calm place. He was in dire need of a vacation and this place would be perfect for one. 

He eventually made it to the outskirts of town and found a lake. He sat there for a while skipping stones and enjoying the view. When the sun started to set he walked to the forest and decided to sleep there for the night. 

When he woke up he counted his money and decided to treat himself to a sandwich. He made his way back to town and, after asking around a bit, he managed to find himself a deli. It was a bit more than he would usually spend on a sandwich but this was a special occasion. He was going to relax for a while.

The next few days were spent mostly doing nothing. The lake became his refuge. No one went there so he was able to swim a bit. He also ended up sleeping in the forest. It was calm at night. The gentle hoots of owls and crickets songs lulling him to sleep every night. 

When he woke up on the fourth day something felt different. It was like when you were solving a puzzle and you were down to the last few pieces and you slid them around trying to catch the gap. He felt like he was sliding around, so close to completing the puzzle, but still not done. 

He walked to the lake to refill his water bottle. He wasn’t totally sure it was safe, but he hadn’t gotten sick yet so he figured it was good enough. He wanted to grab a few more dollars before he left town, he figured that would be what he did today. Then tomorrow he would enjoy his last day in town, maybe talk to the locals before he took off again. 

He headed off into town and got himself in the thick of it. Never more than a few coins, the people in this town were friendly and it made him feel guilty stealing too much. But he also knew that he needed to do this to survive. 

All morning he felt like he was being watched. He kept looking around and he didn’t see any trenchcoats around so he relaxed. He sat on some random steps around lunchtime just to take a minute to admire the town. When he heard the old bell start to go off at twelve, he felt something. He could feel something pulling him. He had never felt this before. He had felt the repulsion of the trenchcoats when they got close enough. But he had never felt a pull. It was this that made him suspicious. He decided to ignore the pull, he didn’t want to end up with the trenchcoats. He stood up and wandered around town hoping if he ignored the pull that the feeling would disappear. 

It didn’t. Tommy was asleep under the tree he had been sleeping under all week and the pull had only gotten stronger. He wanted to follow it. He looked up at the moon and made up his mind. He grabbed his backpack and stood up before he could change his mind. He followed the pull. Walking slowly just in case it was a trap even though he wanted to sprint. The pull lead him deeper through the forest, deeper than he had explored in his own time. The buses here left pretty early so worst come to worse he could probably sneak onto one. Hopefully, it didn’t come to that, he really liked this place. He couldn’t explain why. He just did. 

Finally, he got to a clearing. In the middle of the clearing, there was a single tree stump. And strangely enough, there was also a floating ball of golden light above the stump. He looked around the clearing, his eyes and ears scanning the surrounding forest for anything that might indicate a trap. When he didn’t see anything he slowly approached the stump. 

When he got close enough he reached his hand out to the light but just before his fingers could touch it he felt the wind shift around him. He snapped his hand back and turned around getting into a fighting stance. Oddly enough he felt a strong gust of wind blow from being him. He heard a few branches snap in the distance from it. He took a step back making sure he was well balanced. He tried avoiding fights whenever possible, but he didn’t survive four years on the streets without knowing how to fight. 

“I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” came a flat monotone voice from behind him. 

Tommy turned around fists still in front of his face and was met by a familiar face.

He felt his stomach drop. It was the pink-haired boy from the city. He was terrifying up close. Tall and brood with a looming figure that looked ready for a fight. 

“Recognize me,” said the boy with a raised eyebrow.

“N-no,” Tommy said, cursing his stutter.

The boy looked him up and down, his eyes flickering occasionally to the light next to him before turning around. 

“Follow me,” he said as he walked away. 

Tommy stood there, wondering where he was leading him to a trenchcoat. It wouldn’t be the first time that something similar had happened. But never with a light, and usually when it happened something inside him screamed at him not to go. Whatever it was that screamed was quiet now. Before he could make a decision however the boy turned around. 

“Well,” he said raising an eyebrow. His hand made its way to his hip and pulled up. Too late Tommy realized that he had a sword. He partially unsheathed it, letting the light catch the blade before dropping it back. 

That made the decision for Tommy. He scrambled to follow the boy, keeping his distance still not sure as to what was going on. 

The walk was fairly short and they eventually made it to the back of a small cabin nestled in the woods. Tommy surveyed the area surrounding the cabin. He was plotting his eventual escape. He saw a long driveway and figured if he hugged that then he would probably be fine. It was too dangerous to walk on the road, even if there weren’t any cars. One van of trenchcoats had taught him that a few years ago. 

He followed the boy to the front of the house. When they got there he saw the blonde man whose wallet he stole sitting on the front porch. 

Ah. He slowed down a bit cursing his luck that he somehow ended up in the same town as the small family. His eyes darted around looking for something he could use as a distraction. Unfortunately, before he could find something he was on the porch. 

“Hello, I think we’ve met before,” the blonde man said, a gentle smile on his face. 

“You could say that,” Tommy said nervously. 

The man chuckled at that, the pink-haired boy standing there impassively, hand resting casually on his sword. Tommy got the impression that he was there to protect who Tommy assumed was his father. 

“Are you hungry,” the man asked him. 

“I’m fine,” Tommy lied.

“Come in,” the man said, his tone telling Tommy it was more of a demand than an invitation. 

“You won’t turn me in will you,” Tommy asked, well aware of how desperate his voice sounded. 

“No, I just wanted to have a chat with you,” the man told him. 

That didn’t exactly ease his nerves. 

Still, with the boy standing there ominously with his sword, he didn’t feel like he had a choice. 

When he walked into the house his eyes immediately went to the coat-rack, looking for a familiar black coat. When he didn’t see one he relaxed a bit. He followed the man through the small hallway to the kitchen. The man pulled out a chair and tipped his head towards it, motioning for Tommy to sit down. He did as he was told and was surprised when a bowl of some sort of stew was placed in front of him, along with a spoon. He hesitantly picked up the spoon.

“This isn’t drugged right,” he asked. Deep in his memory, he remembered being invited into someone’s house and waking up in a van with a bunch of trenchcoats.

“No, why would I do that,” the man asked, his brow wrinkling in confusion. 

“Wouldnt be the first time,” Tommy said shrugging nonchalantly. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man freeze. 

He didn’t say anything though so Tommy took a hesitant bite. He turned it over in his mouth a few times before deeming it safe. It was a rich stew, full of vegetables and chicken This would keep him going for a few days if he paced himself. 

“My name Phil by the way,” the man, Phil, said a few minutes later. 

Tommy looked him up and down. 

“Tommy,” he eventually said.

Phil tipped his head in acknowledgement.

“That over there is Technoblade or just Techno,” he said motioning towards the pink-haired boy, “and the one who caught you yesterday is Wilbur.”

Tommy nodded. He went back to his stew calculating how far he would able to go on foot with only it in his stomach. Once he finished it he looked up at Phil expectantly. 

“What did you want to talk about?” he asked.

“We can talk in the morning, once you’ve had some sleep,” Phil told him standing up. 

Tommy followed suit and Phil lead him upstairs. He showed him the bathroom and guestroom telling him to make himself comfortable. Then he and Techno went into their respective bedrooms. 

Tommy brushed his teeth and replaced one of the pillows with his backpack. But he didn’t sleep. This was his chance to escape. Afterall, what was to say that Phil hadn’t called the trenchcoats. What's to say that the police weren’t on their way to him. Besides, was already planning on leaving soon, this was just pushing his plans ahead by a day. 

He waited for what he assumed to be an hour before carefully opening the window. He looked down, there weren’t as many hand and foothold as he would like, but he couldn’t get picky. He had dealt with less and from higher heights too. He was about halfway down when he heard someone knock and walk into his from. He froze, heart thudding in his chest, holding as still as possible so he didn’t alert whoever was in his room to his location. Once he heard them leave his room he quickened his pace. As soon as his feet hit the ground he sprinted, mind going a mile a minute, pushing one thought over and over. Get out, run. He heard the front door open and was halfway through the clearing when he was tackled to the ground. 

He rolled over mid-air to let his backpack absorb the shock. Through the haze of the adrenaline he saw the pink-haired boy above him, the moon casting eerie shadows on his face with a determined look in his eye. That was the last thing he saw before hitting his head and blacking out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get some more failed escapes from Tommy and then some good ole feels at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I hear triple upload, I believe I did. This is never happening again. It shouldn't have even happened today.

He opened his eyes to sunlight streaming through an opened window. He was confused. This wasn’t his forest. This wasn’t his tree. Panicked he sat up, immediately regretting it when his head started to pound. He lied back down, unable to stop the small groan from escaping from his lips. He used his hands to feel around the bed, calming down significantly when he felt the rough canvas of his backpack beneath his fingertips. 

He took in his surroundings trying to remember how he got there. Suddenly it all came flooding back to him. The pull, the clearing, the light, the cabin. Phil giving him stew, him climbing out the window only to be tackled by Techno. He had to get out of here. Ignoring his head he reached for his backpack and stood up. After taking a moment to let the pounding settle down a bit he made his way back to the window. He worked with muscle memory to open it up again. When he pulled it upwards, however, the window wouldn’t move. He carefully bent down to have a better look at it. It was locked from the outside. Dang it, that was his only plan. Well, maybe not his only plan. He turned towards the door, walking slowly making sure not to make any noise. Once he got to the door he put his ear to it, listening for who was where. 

He heard footsteps and gentle chatter coming from what he assumed to be the kitchen. The kitchen didn’t have a very good view of the front door. If he was fast and quiet enough he could probably make it without being seen. He slowly made his way down the stairs keeping an ear out for the activity in the kitchen. 

“What are you doing,” came a voice from behind Tommy. 

He jumped turning around and falling the rest of the way down. So much for a sneaky escape. He stood up quickly, briefly forgetting about his head, he was quickly reminded of it however when he stood up and the world started spinning. He blindly reached out and managed to grab the railing before he fell again. Someone else gently grabbed his shoulder. He closed his eyes and shook his head in an attempt to reorient himself. He opened his eyes and found that he was only able to see blobs of colour. Someone was talking to him but his ears were stuffed with cotton. His legs gave out from under him, someone however seemed to be expecting it because he was immediately caught. 

He felt himself being lifted and carried down the hall. He vaguely feels himself being lowered onto the couch and a blanket being thrown over him. He tries to stay awake, the survivor inside of him yelling at him that it was dangerous to fall asleep after a concussion but he’s too tired to listen to it. So, with a small sigh, he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep. 

When he wakes up next he immediately remembers everything. He shifts a bit on the couch hoping to feel his backpack underneath him, no such luck. He doesn’t sit up right away and instead looks around, eyes and ears open. 

He hears people talking from the kitchen, but they’re too quiet for him to hear from here. He needs his backpack. It contains his entire life. It has his money, his food, even his childhood in the form of his bear plushie. He sits up slowly, remembering from his tour yesterday that there’s a wall between him and the kitchen. Once he does that he slowly stands up, eyes scanning for his backpack. He quietly slinks out of the room careful to keep his breathing even and his footfalls gentle. 

Tommy makes his way down the hall keeping one hand on the wall in case he falls again. He makes it to the doorway and is about to open the closet when-

“Looking for something?” 

He whirls around and comes face to face with the brunette. He has a smug expression on his face. One and is on his hip and in the other, he holds one of the straps of Tommy’s backpack. 

Tommy watches him carefully, calculating his chance of success if he rushed him, a quick punch to the gut would surely knock this guy down a few pegs. But then he would have to contend with Techn0. That wasn’t a fight he was looking forward to. 

But if he was fast enough he might be able to make it to the bus station. He doubted that any of them knew how to avoid security cameras. 

Before he could make up his mind, however, the other two walked out from the kitchen. That put all his plans on pause, for now. The trenchcoats would find him. They always did. He had stayed with a family of fishers who lived in the middle of nowhere about a year and a half ago. He had been convinced that that was life on the run over for him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The coats had found him about a month in. That was the last time he had ever tried to find a permanent place to stay. 

The brunette handed the bag to Techno and came and grabbed Tommy’s wrist. He pulled him into the kitchen and pulled out a chair for Tommy to sit in. He hesitantly did so. 

The rest of the small family sat down at the table along with him. Another bowl of stew was placed in front of him. He knew he wasn’t getting out of there anytime soon so he figured he should just do what they asked. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds being Tommy eating and the occasional ruffle of feathers from a bird outside. Finally, after a few minutes, Phil broke the silence. 

“So why did you steal my wallet,” he asked.

Tommy nearly choked on his stew. 

“I needed the money and I knew you had cash on you,” he said simply once he recovered. 

Phil furrowed his brow.

“But how did you know I had cash on me.”

“I had been watching you guys since the park. I watched you pay for your drinks in cash and figured you guys were my best bet,” Tommy explained with a small shrug. 

“But why us, if you were watching us since the park surely you saw that I wasn’t alone, wouldn’t it be easier to steal from someone without anyone with them,” Phil asked, his confusion racking up. 

“You’d think, wouldn’t you. But in my experience with one person, they tend to be more alert. With more people, everyone feels as though they can depend on other people for safety, and they can. But it’s also that reliance on other people that makes it easier for me to steal from someone,” Tommy said with a shrug. The entire time he had been talking he had been staring down at his food, anxiety crawling up and making itself known. 

“How exactly do you know this?” Techno asked. His voice was as monotone as ever, but Tommy could hear the anger beneath them. 

“Years on the street big man,” Tommy said with all the false bravado he could muster. 

“What do you mean years on the street,” Phil asked, cutting of whatever Techno had been about to say. 

“I mean that I’ve been out there alone for the past four years,” Tommy said simply. 

“Did you want to give us some backstory for that, or are we just gonna have to let our imaginations go wild,” the brunette asked, clearly annoyed. 

“You haven’t quite unlocked my life stories. I barely know any f you, I don’t even know your name,” Tommy huffed. 

The smug look was back on the brunette’s face. Tommy was tempted to punch him but A) he was on the other side of the table to him, well out of his reach for a good swing at him, and B) Techno was sat right next to him. No way was he punching him and not getting anything back. 

“My names Wilbur, this here is Techno, we’re twins-”

“I know who Techno is, I also know Phil,” Tommy said cutting him off.

“Right, well I doubt you know the rest of what I’m about to tell you so keep your mouth shut gremlin,” Wilbur said looking incredibly annoyed before continuing, “the two of us were abandoned as when we were about twelve, about a year later Phil found us and took us in. There your turn.”

Tommy let out a few curses under his breath before putting his spoon down.

“I was in the foster system for about as long as I can remember, when I was about twelve I started noticing a bunch of weird guys in black trenchcoats everywhere. A couple months later one tried to take me in so I attacked one of the social workers. It worked and was kicked out and put into a new group home. They came back a little later so I attacked again. It happened one more time before I decided that enough was enough so I ran. I skipped town with only my backpack and whatever was in it. I learned how to survive. Unfortunately, the coats keep coming back. They want me for some reason, I didn’t know why and I don’t intend on finding out. It’s why I can never stay in the same place for long. They always find me, I don’t know how,” Tommy said sadly. He didn’t like to think about it, but every time he did, he got sad about it. His whole life git into on measly backpack. He didn’t have a home, he didn’t have anyone to protect or care for him. He didn’t have anyone to protect and care for. 

“And that’s been the past how many years,” Phil asked, hesitantly, as if he were afraid to know the answer. 

“Four,” Tommy said head bowed, he mourned the loss of his childhood. But he did what had to be done. 

“Stay with us,” Phil offered.

“They’ll find me, it’s not worth it. Temporary happiness only to have to leave it behind. Trust me, I learned my lesson about that,” Tommy said shaking his head.

“What if I told you you wouldn’t have to leave it behind this time,” Phil said, a mysterious edge to his voice.

“You can’t promise that, they always find me,” Tommy said dejectedly. Even if he didn’t exactly like Wilbur, Phil had been nothing but kind to him. Tommy was pretty sure the man had long since forgiven him for stealing his wallet. And he didn’t know why, but something inside of him felt at peace here. 

“I can,” Phil said,

“How,” Tommy demanded, “how can you promise me the entire reason my life is the way it is will be fine. I’ve run all over this country and I’ve never had more than a month of safety at a time. 

“Believe me, I can,” Phil said, and there seemed to be a slight echo to his voice.

And then his wings unfurled.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the last chapter followed by some chaos, dumb decision making and finally some fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did I decide to write today. As if I didn't write enough yesterday. 
> 
> Don't expect chapters to come out at this frequency ever again,
> 
> Anyways enjoy

Tommy stared in shock. Behind Phil was a pair of deep purply-grey wings. The feathers were glossy and stood proudly fanning out from his back. Their colour was leaned more towards purple closer to the tips and slowly turned grey in the center. Phil gently shook them out, the feathers ruffling and making them look softer. 

All Tommy could do was stare. He had wings for flips sake. He started frantically looking around, his eyes landing on the backpack that had made its way back to Wilburs hand. He debated whether or not he could survive without it, it did have all his belongings but he had stolen most of it anyways. The only thing he couldn’t replace was the stuffed bear. HE made a decision. He ran towards the doorway catching them all off guard, they scrambled towards him, arms reaching out for his own. He expertly dodged them managing to trip Techno who took Wilbur down with him. Wilbur grabbed his wrist and a loud ringing noise started in his ears. Tommy focused on it, his instincts telling him to when suddenly his wrist was released. He took the opportunity and jumped onto one of the chairs that were scattered around the room and launched himself out the window. He held one arm in front of his face and squeezed his eyes shut while he held the other one out in front of him to break the window. 

He heard the surprised yells from behind as he brought both his arms in front of his chest as he rolled out onto the grass beneath. He quickly stood up forgetting he didn’t have shoes on and immediately stepped onto a shard of glass. 

He winced as he carefully placed his other foot down after making sure there was no glass. He didn’t have any time to assess the dame though He shuddered at the memory of getting tackled last night by Techno. He quickly hopped away from the house hissing every time he felt a piece of glass imbed itself in his foot. 

Finally, he was in the clear, or about as in the clear as one could get when they had just walked over broken glass. He hobbled into the first dong his best to ignore the way his feet were screaming at him. 

Finally, he found himself by the lake again. He didn’t remember deciding to come here, nor did he actually remembered the route to get here, but here he was. He hobbled over to a log that jutted out over a deeper part of the lake and swung himself onto it, making sure his feet didn’t touch it. He then carefully put his feet into it to stop the bleeding. he needed a plan, and step on was to get the glass out of his feet. But he didn’t have anything, no medical supplies of any kind. He didn’t even have any money.

He didn’t know how long he sat there when he heard a bird circle overhead. 

“Tommy,” came a voice, Phil’s voice, from behind him.

Tommy froze, he had forgotten about his wings thanks to all the glass in his feet. 

“I don’t want to hurt you. I want to help you,” Phil continued.

“How do I know I can trust you,” Tommy asked his voice surprisingly stead for how shaky he felt.

“Those trenchcoats, they used to follow me around too. Not as bad as you, I was under protection. I can give you that protection, I promise that so long as you’re with me you’ll never see another coat again,” Phil said, his voice full of empathy. 

Tommy mulled it over in his head. With his feet, the way they were and the fact that he didn’t have anything he didn’t really have a choice, but he liked to pretend he did.

He nodded, his back still turned to Phil.

Phil understood and Tommy could hear him walk coder to him, slowly like he might approach a wounded animal, which Tommy supposed he was. 

When he was close enough Tommy turned around to face him. His eyes were immediately drawn to the black strap across the winged-mans chest. His mind was already attempting to formulate an escape plan when his eyes caught the white plus sign and he realized it was just a first aid kit, his backpack. 

Phil’s wings retracted as he pulled the kit over his head. He set down a white blanket on the grass. He motioned to Tommy to get on the blanket, which Tommy did carefully. HE ended up sitting partially on the grass with his arms behind himself and his legs directly in front of him. 

“This is gonna hurt,” Phil warned him holding the pair of tweezers he had just sterilized. 

Tommy nodded, biting his lip.

He cried out when he felt the first poke of the tweezers in his foot. 

“Sorry,” Phil said pausing.

“It’s fine-, just-,” Tommy cut himself his face turning red.

ThankfullyPhil seemed to understand what he wanted even if Tommy himself didn’t. He was gentle with him, pausing whenever Tommy jerked around or let out a particularly loud cry. He spoke in soothing tones and always told Tommy when he moved to a new part of his foot. Once he was done with the first one he quickly sterilized and bandaged it, wrapping it tightly. He was just as gentle doing his second foot as he was the first one. 

He finished when the sun started setting. Phil stood up once he did up the final bandage. 

“We should get going,” he said stretching.

“Wait, the suns about to set,” Tommy said turning back towards the lake. 

Phil came and sat next to him. Tommy immediately craved his warmth. It had been so long since someone had held him in a way that mattered. Small handholds and quick handshakes had been all get had gotten for so long. Phil seemed to read his mind and scooted closer to him. Tommy melted into his side a few minutes later when the sun was always down the horizon he heard Phil pull his wings out from whatever void they went to when they weren’t out. To his surprise, he felt a wing wrap around him. The wing was as soft as it looked. He let out a content sigh, subconsciously snuggling closer to Phil.

Between the gold sun, the gentle sounds of the lake and the wing wrapped around him Tommy couldn’t fight the tiredness that overtook him. He slowly started to fall asleep. He jumped once when he realized what he was doing but Phil shushed him and started running his fingers through his hair. Tommy tried fighting sleep a little longer but he eventually gave in.

He woke up to wind blowing through his hair. He looked around panicking when he couldn’t see the ground before he realized that Phil was taking him back to the cabin. 

“It’s really nice up here,” Tommy said, his words slurring together, still tired from his nap.

“It is,” Phil agreed. 

When they landed on the front lawn Phil didn’t put him down and instead started carrying him towards the door. Tommy looked up at him confused. 

“You’re on bed rest for at least a week mate. I don’t want your feet to get any worse,” Phil told him. 

Tommy nodded. He hadn’t thought about that.

He saw Wilbur run up and open the door. He helped Phil maneuver him upstairs to the bed he had slept in last night. 

“Can I ask about your wings,” Tommy asked hesitantly. 

“I figured you would ask this. There isn’t really much to say except I was born with them,” Phil said shrugging.

“But how, I mean, people don’t have wings,” Tommy said wrinkling his nose. 

“The Energy,” Phil said vaguely.

That just gave Tommy more questions than he started with, but he got the idea that he wasn’t going to get any more from him today so he just nodded. 

“You’re probably tired so ill let you get some sleep while we make dinner. Once it’s done Either me or Techno will come get you,” Phil said. 

Tommy nodded and promptly rolled over to face the wall and quickly fell asleep. 

He was awoken about forty minutes later by Techno. He handed him a clean shirt and pants and left the room while Tommy struggled into them since he couldn’t stand up. Once Tommy called him back in Techni picked him up with one arm under his knees and the other going just under his shoulders. Dinner was a chicken pot pie. Tommy practically inhaled his slice, and the second and third helpings he was given by Phil. 

“Geez kid, slow down it’s like you’ve never eaten before,” Wilbur said with a laugh.

Phil on the other hand looked concerned.

“When was the last time you ate a proper meal. Not just those granola bars you have in your bag, and the stew from yesterday doesn’t count,” he asked, although the tone of his voice told Tommy that he didn’t really want to know the answer.

“I had a sandwich from the deli this week,” Tommy mumbled.

“This week,” Phil cried out, “what about before then.”

“In the other city, there was a bakery that put out week-old bread on a table around back. I ate really well that week. But if you don’t count that then two cities ago I saved up enough money to buy myself a sub,” Tommy answered.

He looked up from his food to see the others looking at him in shock. 

“PIck pocketing doesn’t pay very well, and I needed the money for bus tickets,” Tommy said defensively. 

“Right, well, I’m doubly glad our staying with us now,” Phil said, and although he tried to cover it up Tommy could hear the edge of horror in it.

The rest of the meal was eaten in an uncomfortable silence


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get some answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep saying not to expect updates anytime soon and then I keep updating. But seriously, don't expect this anymore
> 
> Also massive thanks to Ancient_Dee_Cyphers for beta'ing this chapter

Tommy headed to bed after dinner, except he didn’t actually sleep, he contemplated. He didn’t know these people, and while Phil had been nothing but nice to him, he made Tommy feel trapped.

Out of nowhere, Tommy suddenly felt a rush of energy. The dull light from the moon seemed brighter, the colours more saturated, and the lines sharper. He felt stronger, like he could run a marathon. His ears were better too, he could hear the forest clearer now. He felt a surge of power flowing into him, but it felt strange, like there was a valve that was slowly letting more and more of whatever it was into him. Slowly, his senses became sharper, his body more and more powerful.

Just as quickly as it came, it went. The world dulled back down to its original form. He slumped into his pillow, missing whatever had just happened. He stared at the ceiling wondering if another escape attempt was worth it. While he was confused as to what was going on, he didn’t actually feel threatened. Techno hadn’t hurt him in any way after he tackled him, and Wilbur felt like more of a nuisance than anything. He had to admit that he did feel safe here and he was being fed. He licked his lip at the memory of the chicken-pot pie and stew. It had been a while since he had been able to eat meals like that.

Plus, Phil had told him the coats used to follow him around too. Maybe he knew what they wanted from him, maybe Tommy would finally have answers. Maybe, just maybe, Tommy wouldn’t be alone anymore.

The next afternoon, he found himself on the couch with Wilbur. Techno and Phil had gone to town to do grocery shopping and Wilbur had stayed behind to keep an eye on Tommy. Well, technically it was to ‘watch the house’, but Tommy knew better.

Wilbur had pulled out a guitar at some point and had started playing it. The songs were unfamiliar to Tommy, but he liked them all the same. Oddly enough, Tommy noticed that the volume seemed to fluctuate without Wilbur changing the way he played. He was no expert, but Tommy was pretty sure that you had to be gentler when you were playing quieter.

He fell asleep somewhere around song five only to be woken up by Wilbur playing loud enough to shake the house. While the house didn’t actually shake, Tommy felt like it should have been.

“What gives, dude? I’m trying to sleep over here,” he yelled, clamping his hands over his ears.

Wilbur just ignored him and kept strumming. Annoyed, Tommy reached over and grabbed the neck of the guitar, intending on yanking it away when he heard it stop. He looked over to find Wilbur looking at him with a pleased expression on his face.

“You look awfully happy for a guy that’s about to have no guitar,” Tommy spat.

“You must really be confident in your abilities if you think you can smash it from here without busting your eardrums,” Wilbur said, raising an eyebrow.

“What do you mean? It’s a guitar. It’s not that hard to break. I’ve got some practice breaking things after all,” Tommy said, crossing his arms.

He reached over to grab the guitar from Wilbur, scowling when the older boy moved it out of his reach.

“Uh-uh, if you’re so confident you’re gonna do it then do it from there,” Wilbur said, smirking.

“Well, I can’t exactly break it without touching it, now can I?” Tommy said huffing.

“I can,” Wilbur bragged.

“That’s impossible,” Tommy exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

“I’ll prove it to you then,” Wilbur said before standing up.

He walked into the kitchen and Tommy could hear him opening and closing cupboards. When he returned, he had a large roll of clear packing tape, a wine glass and a tall, clear container.  
He set down the glass on the table after giving it a quick flick and placed the container over the top of it, he then attached the container to the table with two long strips of tape running from one side to the other the way you put ribbons on presents.

Wilbur hummed to himself quietly before he started focusing intently on the container. Tommy watched as a few seconds later, the glass started shaking and eventually shattered.

Tommy turned to look at Wilbur, horror etched on his face. What kind of house had he stumbled into? He needed to leave. Now. Without thinking, he scrambled onto his feet, immediately falling back onto the couch when his feet screamed in protest. He scooted as far away from Wilbur as he could his fingers searched for anything he could use as a weapon. Finding nothing he just pulled a pillow in front of his chest. He knew it wouldn’t do much, but he felt better having something between him and Wilbur.

Wilbur looked at him weirdly, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Do you not know,” Wilbur asked.  
“Know what?” Tommy asked, his voice shaking.

“You’re like me.” 

“In what way,” Tommy demanded.

“Your Energy. You can manipulate sound,” Wilbur said simply.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Tommy whispered, fear evident in his voice.

“You really don’t know,” Wilbur said shocked, his eyes widening in realization.

“No. I don’t.”

“This is gonna sound crazy, but I promise you it’s the truth,” Wilbur said, taking a deep breath before continuing. “There’s an Energy that flows through this world. It’s old and powerful. Only some people can access it, people whose ancestors come from a long-abandoned place called Cerulea.

“Energy manifests in everyone in different ways. Mine, and yours, is sound. Sound manipulation. Phil’s Energy gives him wings, his Energy is Pathfinding. He shows people the way. Safe-havens for people like us. Techno’s Energy is in combat. He’s a natural warrior and can take more hits than the average person,” Wilbur told him, his voice solemn.

Tommy stared at him. This was crazy. No way was he being legit. But as much as Tommy wanted to deny it, he could tell it was real. He felt its truth seeping into him, a piece of the puzzle had just slid into place, but there was still more missing.

“How do you know I’m like you? I haven’t manipulated sound,” Tommy challenged.

“Except you have. You probably didn’t notice, but you have. Yesterday, when you ran to the window, I grabbed your wrist and was gonna disable you via a high-pitched noise, but I guess you subconsciously realized what was going on and turned it back on me. Except you didn’t just turn it on me, you turned it on everyone.

“That’s why it took Phil so long to find you. I wasn’t ready for it. If I was, I probably would’ve been able to block the noise. And earlier with the guitar, you just straight-up blocked the noise,” Wilbur explained.

Tommy nodded, there wasn’t anything he could really say to that.

When Phil and Techno got home later that day, Wilbur excitedly told them about how there was someone else like him in the house. He told them about the guitar, and after Phil scolded him for breaking another wine glass, they all congratulated Tommy on finding his Energy.

After dinner, they all gathered in the living room to discuss it.

“So, Tommy, you obviously didn’t know about any of this until Wilbur told you, which I honestly didn’t expect. Most people, even when they don’t know what Energy is, at least know they can do weird things. I was just waiting for you to tell us on your own time. But, regardless, that means that you’re gonna have to learn how to control it. Wilbur will be the one teaching you, for the most part, since you’ve got the same abilities as him. But me and Techno might step in here or there for extra things. Any questions?” Phil asked.

“Wait, you knew I had Energy, or whatever it’s called?” Tommy asked.

“I felt it as soon as you took my wallet,” Phil told him.

“Oh. Wait, do the coats have anything to do with this?” Tommy asked, the pieces clicking into place.

Phil sighed.

“Yes, the coats are a part of an organization that tries to steal our Energy. They’re dangerous and the process to steal someone’s Energy is a vile one. They tend to pick up kids since their Energy is less contained. Although, you must be incredibly powerful. When I was being hunted down I didn’t see them nearly as much as you did,” Phil said, his wings moving uncomfortably behind him.

Tommy processed this information. Finally, he had answers, but they were far scarier than he had ever imagined.

He looked out the window, dreading when he had to run again.

He wanted to trust them and, what he now figured was his Energy, felt calm here. His Energy, he was slowly coming to realize, protected him. It took over his instincts and helped him get away. It was the force inside him that drove him. But there was still something not quite right. He finally had all the pieces, but the puzzle was put together wrong. He didn’t know what to do.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the last chapter followed by some BAMF Techno

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ancient_Dee_Cyphers for beta'ing this chapter

Tommy focused on the wineglass in front of him. It had been a few days since he had shattered the window, and in that time his feet had healed enough to walk around for a little bit at a time. Which was why he was currently sitting in the yard with Wilbur, who was trying to teach him how to use his Energy.

Wilbur had placed a wineglass on the flat end of a log that was about 10 feet away. Tommy was afraid of breaking it and sending glass everywhere, but Wilbur assured him that he wouldn’t be able to on his first lesson.

He had been right. They had been sitting outside for the better part of an hour and Tommy had yet to be able to send any sound at all.

“Listen to the forest and pick a sound. Focus on it and imagine sliding the sound up,” Wilbur said from beside Tommy.

He had been saying the same thing to Tommy all day, but it wasn’t working.

He groaned, burying his face in his hands. Tommy felt like he would never get it. Wilbur had described earlier how he should feel sound flowing towards him if he focused, but he hasn’t felt that.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Wilbur looking at him with a gentle expression on his face.

“Don’t stress yourself out, it’ll come to you eventually,” Wilbur said.

Tommy nodded. Wilbur didn’t remove his hand from his shoulder, which Tommy appreciated as silent support.

He focused back on the forest and all at once, he understood what Wilbur was talking about. He zeroed in on the sound and sent his focus back to the glass.

He watched in fascination as the glass began to vibrate. But what was at first a pleasing feeling of power thrumming through his body, quickly became too much. He tried reining it in, but it was too late. He couldn’t reel it back. Cracks formed in the glass, spidering out from the top of the stem before it shattered.

He watched in slow-motion as the glass broke apart. The shards went flying, glinting in the sun like a deadly snowstorm. His arms came up crossing to make an X over his face, bracing for impact.

But it never came. He didn’t feel the sharp glass sliding across his skin, creating long cuts in their wake. Instead, all he felt was the slow summer breeze gently blowing through his hair.

He slowly removed his arms from in front of his face and cautiously looked around. A quick glance at Wilbur revealed that he was unhurt. The grass around them was clear of any glass, the area around the log, however, shone with a deadly glare.

Wilbur grabbed his arm muttering swears under his breath as he dragged him towards the cabin. Once they got inside Wilbur dragged him into the kitchen where Phil was already waiting.

“Did you see that?!” Wilbur demanded.

“Yes, I did,” Phil said, calmly sipping his tea.

“He wasn’t even making any noise and then suddenly he’s able to break a glass. It took me months to be able to do that,” he exclaimed.

“I know,” Phil said, putting down his cup.

“How are you not more freaked out about this?!” Wilbur yelled.

Phil walked over to Tommy and placed a hand on his shoulder. Immediately, the world changed. It took on a golden hue, the room itself was gently distorted. Wilbur’s yelling was quickly muffled. What he did see, however, was a strange golden trail of dust leading out to the forest where Techno had gone to cut wood. He focused on it and he heard the sound of Techno grunting accompanied by the dull thud of an axe. He heard the ground beneath Techno shift as he adjusted his stance, getting ready for another swing. 

Phil removed his hand and the world snapped back to normal. Tommy shook his head, wondering what the hell had just happened.

He looked up and saw Wilbur staring at him.

“What?” Tommy asked.

“You looked out of it for a sec there,” Wilbur explained.

“He was. I just showed him what I can see,” Phil explained.

“What do you mean by that?” Wilbur said looking at Phil, confusion written all over his face.

“Tommy can’t manipulate sound. He can manipulate Energy,” Phil revealed, an ominous edge to his voice.

Wilbur turned to look at Tommy, his eyes widening. He suddenly backed away from Tommy, fear written in his eyes. Alongside the fear though, there was something else. Hatred. Pure, undiluted hatred. Tommy was familiar with that look. It had gotten him kicked out more than a few times. Parents who saw him out on the streets and brought him home, only for their kids to immediately despise him.

He was a fool to think Phil would be different. To think that he would be able to go against his kids. And sure, they weren’t his by blood, but they had a bond that had been forged by time. He would always lose because time wasn’t something you could replicate. Their years with the man would outweigh the mere days he had been here. Barely a drop in the bucket. But that was fine. Tommy was used to this.

“Calm down, he won’t hurt you. He doesn’t even know what he can do,” Phil said, cutting Tommy from out of his thoughts.

Wilbur moved a bit closer to him, caution and anger written in every step. Tommy didn’t understand what was going on, what Raw Energy was, but he could tell that he would have to leave soon because of it. That was fine. It’s fine. This wasn’t the first time he’d been promised a home only for it to be pulled out from under his feet, but he would make sure it was the last.

He muttered an excuse before hurrying out of the room. He needed to pack.

A few days passed. Phil tried to teach him what Raw Energy was but Tommy pushed him aside every time. He couldn’t let himself get even more attached to the man than he already was. In those days, he gathered resources and intel. He quietly raided the cupboards every night, making sure to steal small amounts of fresh produce as well as wrapped foods like granola bars and trail mix to keep him going for a while. It was a song and dance he was familiar with. Different town, different people, different food, but always the same old story.

He also started mapping out the area. From what he gathered, they were about a two-hour walk from town. If he left tonight, he could walk to town and hide in the forest, and when the first bus left, he would make sure to be on it.

That night, he lay awake in his bed, not unlike his first night in the cabin. This time, he made sure to be extra aware of Techno. In the few days he had been there he had already familiarized himself with each of their footsteps. He saddened at the thought. He had been so close to having a home this time around. He could feel it. But alas, it was never meant to be.

When he was sure Techno was asleep, he tip-toed to his window which he had unlocked earlier that morning. He carefully eased it open, pausing briefly each time it squeaked. When it was open enough for him to crawl out, he did so, carefully putting his feet down so he wouldn’t fall.

“Again,” came a voice from above.

Tommy jumped, his hands momentarily letting go of the brick beneath. He scrabbled for purchase, realizing too late that he was falling. He flipped himself over mid-air onto his shoulder, ready to roll once he hit the ground. His shoulder hit the ground first, absorbing the majority of the impact. His shoulder was alight with pain when he hit the ground. He rolled onto his back, panting from his fall.  
His eyes landed on the roof where a shadowy figure was perched. It was Techno. Tommy moved away, his shoulder protesting as he dragged himself backwards on the grass.

Techno jumped down from the roof, landing gracefully on the lawn. He slowly walked up to Tommy, hands raised as if in surrender.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” he said, approaching Tommy cautiously.

Tommy didn’t doubt him, but he also didn’t quite trust him either. He watched warily as the older boy approached.

When Techno was close enough, he knelt down next to Tommy.

“Kid, I know you don’t want to be here. I get it. But there’s a lot you don’t understand about yourself and that’s dangerous. You’ve been able to outrun the coats so far, but your luck is gonna run out soon. Please, I promise we won’t hurt you. We want to keep you safe,” Techno pleaded, his low tone gentle and sincere.

“Wilbur hates me though. I won’t be able to stay very long if he does,” Tommy admitted.

“He doesn’t hate you. You just remind him of someone we met a while ago,” Techno reassured him, though his hard expression told Tommy that he hadn’t forgotten them either.  
“It’s for the best,” Tommy pushed.

“Tommy, you won’t find another place like this, with people that have Energy. Phil wants to protect you, and to be honest, so do I. I’ve seen you, what you can do, and no child should be able to do the things you can. Let us take care of you, let us give you a home. Please,” Techno said his words raw with emotion.

And while Tommy wanted to argue that he wasn’t a child, he had to admit that in reality, he was. He was sixteen for heaven's sake, he should be in high school doing dumb things with his friends. Not stealing wallets from strangers for his next meal.

He turned his head towards the cabin. Even in the dark, it looked peaceful, it looked like home. Tommy thought about how the past few days had been. They had been nice, if a little tense.

He had to admit, while Wilbur had been keeping his distance and Phil trying to respect his space, Techno had been the only one to really interact with him these past few days. He had become a solid, constant presence in Tommy’s life, always trying to make him comfortable. For the first time in a while, Tommy felt a spark of hope. Pure and genuine hope.

Tommy let it envelop him, he let the spark grow inside him, let it spread into a blazing fire. He let it consume him. He looked towards the future and for the first time in his life, instead of the bleak nothingness he usually saw, he saw a future afire with endless possibilities.

“I’ll stay.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno brings Tommy back to the cabin and has a chat with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ancient_Dee_Cyphers for beta'ing this chapter

Techno helped Tommy up and led him back to the cabin. He sat him down at the table and handed Tommy a blanket before walking over to the kettle. No words were said as he put the water to boil.

“How did you know?” Tommy asked, breaking the silence.

“With my Energy, I have better endurance and heightened senses. I don’t really sleep thanks to the first one. And thanks to the second one, I heard you sneaking down here at night raiding the cupboards. Didn’t take me too long to figure out your plan after that,” Techno said, shrugging.

Tommy nodded humming in acknowledgement.

A comfortable silence fell between them. Tommy set his eyes on the wooden table in front of him. He heard some shuffling and the hollow sound of ceramic being placed on the table. His eyes wandered around the table and saw a small plate of cookies.

A few minutes later, Techno set a mug of tea in front of Tommy and took a seat across from him. Tommy looked up and saw an identical steaming mug of tea between Techno’s hands.

They were silent for a few minutes with the only sounds being Techno blowing and occasionally sipping at his tea and Tommy nibbling a cookie.

They heard some shuffling coming from down the hall and saw a sleepy Phil turn the corner from the stairs.

“Hello you two, what’s going on?” he asked, grabbing a mug from the cupboards to make his own tea.

“Tommy was trying to run again,” Techno said, getting straight to the point.

Tommy opened his mouth to argue except he really couldn’t. That was what he was trying to do, there was no defence he could possibly make. But he wasn’t one to keep quiet, especially when he was the topic of the conversation.

“In my defence, I have no defence,” he said before Phil could say anything.

“That’s a terrible defence,” Techno said dryly.

“I don’t have anything else,” Tommy huffed.

Shaking his head, Techno turned back to Phil who had been watching the entire interaction with a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Tommy doesn’t think he has a reason to stay. We need to tell him,” Techno said.

“I was hoping we could wait a little longer,” Phil admitted reluctantly, bowing his head.

“I know you did, but he’s used to being on the run. He doesn’t have a home base. He told us that on the first day. If he runs and I don’t catch him, we won’t be able to find him unless fate allows it,” Techno argued.

Phil nodded solemnly before turning to Tommy, who had been watching the conversation intently.

“Tommy, Raw Energy is powerful, but more important than that is that it’s rare. Eons ago, the coats found a way to steal Energy from the Ceruleans, kids are their favourite victims since they have the least control over it and it makes it easier to steal. They want you, they want your Energy and they won’t stop until they get it. If you stay here, we can protect you, we can teach you how to use your Energy,” Phil divulged, his expression sombre.

“I’ve outrun them so far. I’ll do it again,” Tommy argued.

“You’ve gotten lucky, but what happens when your luck runs out? I’ll tell you what happens. You lose everything you used to be, you lose your very essence. You lose,” Techno interjected his expression dark, clearly remembering things.

Tommy shivered at the look on Techno’s face. The offer was tempting, the chance to have a place to always return to. But Wilbur...

Worry flooded through Tommy. It was clear the brunette hated him. Tommy had long since figured out how to read the looks people gave him, and Wilburs expression seemed to always yell for him to leave and never come back.

“I-I can’t stay though,” he said, his voice quiet, ashamed.

“Why not?” Phil asked gently.

“Wilbur hates me. I won’t be able to stay much longer and I’ve learned it’s better to leave before I get attached,” Tommy said his voice small.

“I’m not gonna kick you out, if that’s what you think,” Phil soothed.

“And I’ll talk to Wilbur for you,” Techno promised.

“We want you to stay,” Phil told him, his tone rich with sincerity.

Tommy looked around the kitchen and thought about how the past few days had gone. He had told Techno earlier that he would stay, but it seemed both of them understood that he meant for the night. He imagined himself waking up the next morning and eating breakfast with the rest of them, joking and laughing the way he had been able to in the small pockets of peace that he had experienced here so far.

And then he imagined himself on the bus in a few days, on the run again. He imagined his small backpack stuffed with enough food to keep going for a week and nothing else. Really he only had two options, option one he stayed, option two he ran. Running was always easier, he found.

But he also knew that, sometimes, the harder choices yielded the best results.

“I guess I’m home then,” he said sheepishly, ducking his head.

The next morning, he woke up nervous. Undoubtedly, Wilbur had been told his decision to stay. And undoubtedly, it would cause some problems. He was ready for it though.

He walked down to breakfast and to his surprise, the brunette barely acknowledged that he was there. It hurt a bit to see him talking excitedly with Phil and Techno but barely looking at him the entire meal.

Tommy took it in stride though and talked with Techno who seemed less than pleased with his twin’s behaviour. The meal finished with Techno promising that he was gonna have a chat with Wilbur. Tommy immediately put a stop to that, not wanting to give Wilbur another reason to be angry at him.

After breakfast, Tommy went out with Phil so he could teach him how to use his Energy.

“Your Energy is like the hum of a refrigerator. Before you know it exists, you barely even notice it, but now that you know it exists, you won’t be able to ignore it,” he explained.

Tommy nodded.

“I actually blocked your Energy when you first arrived. I haven’t unlocked it yet because I didn’t want to overwhelm you,” Phil told him.

“Why did you wait so long,” Tommy complained, although Phil could see the excitement shining in his eyes.  
Phil smiled warmly at him,“of course.”

Phil closed his eyes, his brow furrowing in concentration. Tommy felt a pull towards him and something inside of him reached out to Phil. His Energy. He felt his Energy nudge Phil and was immediately sucked into him. The world took on the same hazy distorted gold it had before. Tommy watched in fascination as a trail of shimmery gold dust went into his chest. He started to feel powerful, he felt like he could command the world and that the world would listen. He was suddenly aware of how much there was in the forest, he felt the way the wind moved confidently between the trees, the way the water bubbled past in the nearby brook. He felt the presence of the trees and was suddenly aware of how old they were.

He felt something else too. An ancient Energy branching off into four paths. One was Phil, he could sense the way his Energy was guiding him. He felt one of the paths ended in violence, in courage, he felt the noble intentions emanating off of it. It had to be Techno. That meant the last path had to be Wilbur. He followed it gently, noticing how it was less of a feeling and more of a sound. It sounded like how he imagined the Earth would sound if it could sing. Dark and rich with the higher notes punctuating the melody and the lower notes used to emphasize the higher ones. He could hear the way life and death fought for the melody, constantly trying to outshine the other. The song sounded both older than time and newer than a newly made star.

But just as it happened when Wilbur tried to teach him, the Energy quickly turned into too much. He felt the threads of his core trying to contain the influx of power he had, but it wasn’t enough. He felt like he was being torn apart at the seams. Like his entire being was trying to hold on. Power surged through him, crashing against his soul in waves, each one stronger than the last.

He tried to control it, tried to rein it in, but it was too strong. He was drowning in it. The power whiting out his vision, his ears overloaded. And then he decided it wasn’t worth it.

He gave up. He let himself be swept up in the madness of it all, no longer trying to hold onto it. He let the Energy control him, he felt the way sparks flew from his fingertips, the way water bent to his will, except it wasn’t his will. It was the will of his ancestors, he knew this instinctually. His ancestors were furious and they wanted to watch the world burn.

All at once, it stopped. His body crumpled to the floor, no longer used to the nothing he had lived in before. Phil was at his side, immediately asking him questions that Tommy couldn’t hear. Evidently noticing his exhaustion, Phil picked him up and carried him back to the house. When they entered the cabin, Tommy noticed Wilbur’s angry expression and Technos’s tired one. Somehow he knew he was the cause of both of these. Phil carried him upstairs, yelling something at the two brothers. Once Tommy had been safely tucked in, Techno walked in with a water bottle in hand.

Soft reassurances were murmured from both Phil and Techno as they played with his hair. Tommy got the signal and closed his eyes. It wasn’t too long before he was fast asleep, both his body and his mind tired after whatever had happened outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fluff is on the way soon


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil has to go grocery shopping and bad things happen as a result

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank Ancient_Dee_Cyphersfor beta'ing this chapter

When Tommy woke up the next morning, the first thing to hit him was the soreness of his muscles. The next thing to hit him was the light streaming through the windows. He must’ve slept through the night. Muscles he didn’t even know he had were aching in protest as he slowly got up from the bed wanting nothing more than to crawl back between the covers. He slowly went down to the kitchen, trying not to put more pressure on his body than he needed to.

When he stepped into the kitchen he felt the way Energy reached out towards the three of them. He tried reining it in, not wanting a repeat of yesterday, but failed. He ended up managing to control it enough to choose who’s Energy he dipped into. Phil’s. The now-familiar gold haze overtook his vision. He wobbled to the table immediately taking a seat.

“What’s up with you,” Wilbur asked, wrinkling his nose.

“Wilbur,” scolded Phil. “He had a rough day yesterday.”

“I know, I could feel it,” Wilbur snapped.

Tommy froze as he asked, “what do you mean you could feel it?”

“What do you think?! Freak,” Wilbur spat harshly.

“What my brother means to say is that your Energy went a bit wild yesterday and we felt you trying to use ours from here,” Techno explained, sending a glare in Wilbur’s direction.

“I can do that?” Tommy asked, looking down at his upturned palms.

“It’s the basis of your Energy. You feed off of the Energy around you,” Phil explained.

“But they weren’t anywhere near me,” Tommy said, scrunching his eyebrows.

“That’s true, but you’re very powerful. You have a wide reach. I don’t think you’ve found your limit yet.”

“D-did I hurt you,” Tommy asked tentatively.

That seemed to be the wrong thing to ask because all of a sudden Wilbur stood up and whirled on Tommy, his finger pointing at Tommy’s chest. Tommy noticed the way it trembled a little bit, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

“Did it hurt? Did it hurt?! Is that what you want to know? Take a guess. Take a guess if stealing my very essence hurt. Take a guess whether or not someone tapping into my lifeline without my consent hurt. Take a guess just like Aaron took a guess as he used my own Energy to hurt me, as he turned the very thing that made me special against me. Take a flippin’ guess,” Wilbur said, laughing bitterly.

Tommy looked down at his hands again, horror flooding him. Could he really do that? Had someone really done that? He immediately took hold of his Energy and yanked it from Phil. He tried keeping it locked inside of him, but he could feel it escape through the crevices. He hugged his arms to his chest, feeling the pressure of his Energy coiled up inside of him.

He felt a hand on his and heard someone trying to talk to him, but his only focus was on keeping his Energy in. It was hard, but he had to, he couldn’t hurt anyone. Not again.

“-mmy, Tommy,” came a voice cutting through the white noise that filled his ears.

He looked up and saw Phil looking at him with concern.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice gruff.

“Don’t hold it in. It’s dangerous for you,” Phil said, reaching out to touch him.

Tommy flinched knowing that the contact would let his Energy dip into Phil’s.

Phil frowned before slowly taking his hand back, as if giving Tommy a chance to grab it. He didn’t. Tommy eyed him wearily as he moved across the kitchen and placed a plate of pancakes in front of him.

Tommy carefully picked up the fork, not making any large movements, knowing it would be harder to control his Energy if he did.

The atmosphere of breakfast was completely different from the previous days. It was tense and the silence was suffocating. Before, Wilbur had just ignored him while Phil and Techno made polite conversation with him. But today, the only sounds were the forks scraping against the plates. Wilbur kept shooting him hateful looks whenever he thought Tommy wasn’t looking, and even a few when he knew Tommy was, with Techno shooting Wilbur angry looks. Phil just looked confused and frustrated.

Tommy finished breakfast quickly and immediately bolted to his room. He didn’t know how to control his Energy and he knew that asking Phil would just be Phil teaching him how to use it. He didn’t want to know how to use it. He just wanted to learn how to keep it from hurting other people. He laid on his bed, curled in a ball for a while, just keeping his Energy in. But he could feel it as it explored the rest of the house. He could feel the thin strands of Energy that belonged to the others and the way his Energy nudged it, gently wanting to tap into it. Each time it happened, it got harder to rein it in.

He heard Phil knock on his door a little later.

“Tommy, I’m going out for groceries.Was there anything you wanted?” he asked softly.

Tommy didn’t say anything. He was too concerned about keeping himself contained. After receiving no answer, Phil walked away to get ready.

A few minutes later, he heard the front door close and not long after that, a screaming match started between Techno and Wilbur. He shoved a pillow over his head, not wanting to let his concentration go.

Apparently, he had managed to fall asleep because the next thing he knew Techno was standing there in front of him.

“Come on. I’m teaching you how to use your Energy,” Techno told him.

“Techno, I can’t! What if I hurt you,” Tommy protested.

“You won’t,” Techno assured him, “you won’t,” he promised.

Tommy reluctantly stood up from the bed, following Techno downstairs and out into the forest.

They sat down in a little clearing, a good distance from the cabin.

“First off, let go of your Energy. I can tell you’ve been keeping it in since breakfast, which isnt good, it strains you too much mentally,” Techno told him.

Tommy was about to protest, but stopped when he saw the look Techno gave him. He reluctantly closed his eyes and slowly released the coil of Energy from his chest. He felt the way it gravitated towards the Earth, calming him. He felt it grow and spread around him. The Earth sung for him, it hummed its peaceful melody whispering promises of a bright future. He felt something else though. There was an Energy that felt explosive, like a newborn star. Unstable and powerful. His Energy was drawn towards it and he let it go. As soon as he nudged it he realized his mistake. It was Techno.

Power filled him up. He wanted to fight something. He heard more, saw more, he was more. He stood up, his eyes looking for something to punch to expel the excess energy. Unfortunately, it was at that moment he caught sight of a familiar brunette./  
Wilbur looked furious, but some part of Tommy also recognized the anger as fear. As much as he wanted to sock him right in the jaw, thanks to Techno’s Energy, he refrained. But Wilbur clearly didn’t have those qualms./  
“Let go of him, you monster,” he yelled, marching up to Tommy.  
“Wilbur, he’s just like you and me. He has Energy,” Techno said firmly, placing himself between his twin and Tommy.

“No, he’s not. We can hurt people, yes, but we can’t turn someone against themself! We can’t hurt anyone using themself as a weapon. He can,” Wilbur seethed, fury seeping through every word.

“Listen. I understand why you’re scared, but Tommy isn’t Aaron. He’s just a kid, like you and me,” Techno tried explaining to him.

“I don’t care! He still sucks Energy from us even when he’s just sleeping! I can feel it,” Wilbur argued.

“He doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Techno snapped.

“Yeah, and what do you think he’s gonna do once he does?!” Wilbur yelled before turning his heel and stalking back to the cabin.

Techno turned back to Tommy, scrubbing his hand across his face.

“Let’s get back to it. Come on,” he said, obviously trying to ignore his twin’s hatred towards the younger blonde.

But Tommy had already called the Energy back. Techno had made him forget how dangerous he was.

Tommy shook his head.

Techno looked like he was about to say something, but then looks of anger, frustration, and understanding warred on his face before it returned to his usual blank expression.

The two walked out of the clearing, Tommy keeping as much space as possible between him and the older boy.

“He’s wrong, you know,” Techno said after walking a bit.

“About what?” Tommy asked hesitantly.

“You’re not a monster or a freak. He-we really, had a bad experience with someone with Raw Energy when we were 12. But you aren’t him. You’ve got a powerful gift, and if you let us teach you, you won’t be afraid of it anymore,” Techno told him, not bothering to look back at where Tommy was.

“I am though,” Tommy said, kicking a rock.

“You are what?”

“I’m a freak. When I tapped into your Energy, I wanted to fight something. I wanted to hurt someone,” Tommy told him.

“That’s just my Energy,” Techno replied.

Techno didn’t say anything else after that and neither did Tommy.

When they got home, Phil had already returned.

Tommy distantly wondered when he started considering the cabin home.

After groceries were put away, Phil pulled Tommy aside and handed him a pendant necklace. The chain itself wasn’t anything special, just a sturdy looking silver thing with thin delicate loops. But the pendant itself was where the interest was. It was a flat, teardrop-shaped rock about the size of a new eraser. On the front, there was inscribed something that resembled a round maze.

“Right now, I’m blocking most of your Energy, but I want you to be in control of yourself. When you wear this, you’ll be able to feel almost a sort of valve. You can turn it to control how much of your Energy flows to you,” Phil explained.

Tommy grabbed it, tucking it under his shirt, immediately closing his eyes to find the valve. He found it easily and turned it completely off. When he opened his eyes, he found Phil looking at him sadly.

“It’s okay to be yourself, you know,” Phil said.

That night when Tommy slept, he slept peacefully for the first time in ages.

Even though Phil had intended for the pendant to be used so he could open the valve a little at a time, so he could eventually be able to handle his Energy at its fullest, he was going to use it to lock up his Energy.

He was dangerous. This was the best choice for everyone involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a few chapters, something will happen that I super excited for *cackled*


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy feels the full effect of blocking his Energy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ancient_Dee_Cyphers for Beta'ing this chapter 
> 
> You guys get a long

After the next few days, Tommy noticed that he felt more tired. Instinctively, he knew that it was because of the way he had been blocking his Energy. He had tried letting it out a little bit at a time, but he abandoned it as soon as he felt it reach towards one of the other three in the house. Along with his constant fatigue, he wasn’t able to sleep very much. He would toss and turn in his bed, trying all his usual tactics before drifting off at around two or three in the morning.

Things had also been tense in the cabin. Phil and Techno had tried coaxing him into unblocking his Energy, but he had held strong.

The only good thing to happen was that Wilbur had moved on from hating him to being indifferent. The day after Phil had given him the pendant, Wilbur had walked up to him and pulled the pendant from where it was tucked into his shirt a spark of recognition in his eyes when he saw it. Wilbur had asked how much Energy he was letting through and when Tommy had told him that he had blocked it completely, he had given him a small and pleased smile before going about his day.

He felt the way his Energy was begging to be used. He could feel the way it crashed against his core, demanding to be let out. But he resisted. He ignored the itch under his skin as much as he could, but gave himself small reprieves for seconds at a time to calm it down. He couldn’t let it out the way Techno and Phil wanted him to Wilbur was right, after all. He was a freak. The rest of them had Energy, but they couldn’t hurt other people the way Wilbur had described, and if Tommy had any say in it, he never would.

As the days went on, his Energy’s restlessness got worse, but he did his best to hide it. What used to be an itch turned into sharp pain. What used to be a few hours of missed sleep eventually turned into several all-nighters. What used to be quick jolts Energy against him turned into sharp pointed jabs. He flinched at every sudden movement, feeling the way his Energy wanted to be let out, the way it demanded freedom.

But he hid it. When he realized that he wasn’t going to be able to sleep, he started chugging coffee. When Phil and Techno started questioning the bags under his eyes, he told them that he had allergies. He didn’t know if that was how it worked, but neither of them seemed to question it, so he counted it as a win.

A week later, he knew he had made a mistake when he woke up with his sheets damp as though he had been sweating, but the bed felt frigid. He tried sitting up, but was immediately hit with a wave of nausea. He quickly lied back down, not wanting to throw up. He ended up drifting back to sleep. He was on the cusp of sleep when he heard a soft knocking at the door.

“Tommy, me and Techno are going to be gardening today out back. I know you haven’t been sleeping lately, so feel free to take the day off. Okay?” Phil said gently.

Tommy made a noise of acknowledgement before flipping back over and closing his eyes.

When he opened his eyes next, the sun was fully up, telling Tommy that he had managed to sleep for at least another few hours. He felt worse than before. He now had a pounding headache, his muscles felt heavy, and the nausea was worse than before. He heard a loud knocking coming from his door.

“Tommy get up it’s one o’clock,” Wilbur half-shouted while pounding on the door.

Tommy could only groan. He didn’t think he would be able to stand up without falling over.

Unfortunately, Wilbur misinterpreted the sound as frustration. He grumbled before yanking open the door. The unexpected movement surprised Tommy and he jumped up into a sitting position before the room started spinning and he fell back onto the bed.

He opened his eyes to look at Wilbur, who had gone from looking annoyed to mildly concerned one.

“Tommy, are you okay?” he asked, his tone barely hiding his concern.

“I’m fine, idiot,” Tommy said, his voice muffled from the blanket right in front of it.

Wilbur’s face flicked from concerned to annoyed and back to concerned before he promptly left the room. Just as Tommy was about to yell at him to close the door, Wilbur returned with a thermometer. He walked over to Tommy saying “open” when it was in front of his mouth.

Tommy grumbled a bit before complying.

The thermometer beeped a few seconds later and when Wilbur read the number he frowned.

“Have you been feeling off all week?” he asked.

“What?! No!” Tommy said, sputtering indignantly.

Wilbur merely raised an eyebrow with a cool expression on his face.

“A little bit of exhaustion isn’t something I whine about,” Tommy amended when seeing the look Wilbur gave him.

“You have a fever,” Wilbur told him.

“Oh.”

“Phil and Techno are out in the garden. Are you good on your own,” Wilbur asked.

“Yeah,” Tommy said, already snuggling back into the blankets.

Tommy was, in fact, not fine on his own. He sat up and the room shifted around him, warping and turning a sharp grey-blue. He felt his Energy trying to escape from him. It was all he could do to keep it contained. A lanky silhouette started crawling from the hallway through the warped doorway. It’s inky black, a stark contrast to the smokey teal-grey light coming from the hallway. Slowly, the silhouette took shape and a familiar mop of brown curls came into view.

Wilbur smiled cruelly down at him and raised his hands up as if in surrender. All the light in the room then came together, leaving the things in the room visible, but without any shadows. The light gathered in front of Tommy before entering through his chest. It wasn’t light though, it was Energy. He tried to fight it off, but it entered him all the same. He felt the power thrumming through him before it shot off to Wilbur, consuming him. A high-pitched ringing nose started echoing through the room, growing louder as it bounced off the walls. Wilbur fell to his knees, an inky black stain growing on his chest.

Tommy stumbled out of bed, falling to the ground when the floor started shifting beneath his feet. He crawled over to Wilbur, gasping for air as if he had just been underwater, his hands doing most of the work. When he got there, Wilbur was lying on his back giving Tommy a look that seemed like it should have set him on fire.

“You did this,” Wilbur growled, his voice echoing around the room like a dozen camera shutters. “I’m dying because of you and what you are. Is this what you wanted?”

Tommy reached him, his hands immediately going to the stain trying to stop it from spreading.

Cries of “I’m sorry,”and, “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” fell from his lips as tears rolled down his cheeks. He didn’t know how long he sat there crying and pleading with Wilbur before he felt someone shaking him. He looked up from Wilbur’s corpse only to find a much softer looking Wilbur, the real Wilbur looking down at him, concern etched on his face.

He sat up quickly, noticing he was back in his bed. The room looked normal. His hand immediately went up to his face and he found wet tear tracks.

“Tommy, are you ok?” Wilbur asked softly.

“Y-yeah. I’m fine,” Tommy said shakily.

“What was it about?” Wilbur asked gently, taking a seat next to him, his hand coming up to rub gentle circles on his back.

Tommy hadn’t even realized it was a nightmare if he was being honest with himself.

“I was sleeping here, the room was all weird and crooked. And then y-you walked in, well your shadow did anyways. And my Energy- it- I killed you,” Tommy told him between stuttered breaths.

He felt Wilburs hand freeze on his back.

“Oh, Tommy,” he said in barely a whisper.

The next thing he knew, he was being pulled gently against Wilbur’s chest. At first, he tried to fight it, briefly remembering his Energy, but Wilbur wasn’t having it. After a few seconds, Tommy stopped fighting it and melted into the hug. He hadn’t felt this cared for in so long. It felt so nice. He started to feel sleepy again. He forced himself awake only to be met by Wilbur’s dark brown eyes.

“It’s okay. Go to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up,” Wilbur told him, running his fingers through Tommy’s hair.

Tommy didn’t try to stop the next time sleep called to him, he felt so warm and safe here. He felt like he was finally home.

When he woke up next, he found himself on the couch with a blanket carefully tucked around him. The TV was on and Wilbur sat on the other couch.

“You’re up,” Wilbur said, quickly turning off the TV.

“Yeah,” Tommy said.

“Listen. What I said about you being a freak, I’m so so sorry. That was completely out of line,” he said, looking Tommy in the eye.

“It’s fine,” Tommy told him.

“No, it’s not!” Wilbur snapped, but Tommy got the idea that the snappish tone wasn’t aimed at him. “I was scared of you. A lost and scared kid on the run because of something that happened seven years ago. I wasn’t thinking clearly and I took out my anger at him on you. You had a nightmare about it for flip’s sake!” Wilbur said, clenching his fists in his lap.

“I forgive you,” Tommy told him, his words dripping with sincerity. 

And he did, while he didn’t think that he would be able to use his Energy without remembering the nightmare he had, he couldn’t help but remember the way Wilbur had held him. How soft and caring his touches were. He understood where Wilbur had been coming from; he had done a similar thing in the past when he was scared. He knew that Wilbur didn’t hate him anymore. And he was so tired. Tired of being on the run, tired of being alone. Holding a grudge was more energy than it was worth.

When Phil and Techno returned, they were shocked to see Wilbur, who had previously refused to even look at Tommy, curled protectively around him on the couch as they slept. They turned off the movie and threw an extra blanket over the pair. They walked into the kitchen and found two bowls in the sink and a half-empty pot of soup on the stove.

Wilbur woke up first and after he had explained what had transpired, Phil quickly woke Tommy up.

“Tommy, you have to unblock your Energy. That’s the reason you got sick,” Phil said urgently after Tommy was coherent.

Tommy pulled out the pendant from where it was tucked under his shirt, cringing at how warm it was thanks to his fever, before glancing nervously at Wilbur. Wilbur hesitated for a beat before nodding confidently, giving Tommy an encouraging smile.

He reached into the valve and opened it up slightly, still afraid of what he could do. Immediately, he felt better. It felt like he could finally breathe again. After spending so long keeping his Energy in, the feeling of it moving freely around the room was exhilarating.

That night, Tommy fell asleep between Phil and Wilbur as they watched a movie, feeling at home for the first time in years.

Gone were the days of finding shelter under trees and buildings. Gone were the days of stealing dollars from strangers and raiding trash cans of bakeries. Now, he had a bed to sleep in every night and three proper meals a day. But most importantly, he had people who cared for him.

And that was the first time Tommy had been able to say that. And with that thought, he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and Wilbur go for a picnic 
> 
> ^-^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta Ancient_Dee_Cyphers for looking this over 
> 
> This is my longest chapter yet, 2.9k words, I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Also important announcement at the end of the chapter.

Tommy waved at Phil and Techno as they drove off. They were headed to town today to run some errands, which left Tommy alone with Wilbur for the day. The idea of being left alone with Wilbur wasn’t as bad as it would have been a few days ago. After his nightmare the other day, the brunette had been making an effort to ensure Tommy’s comfort in the cabin. While things were still a bit weird between them when Tommy unblocked his Energy too quickly, they were slowly working through it.

Though that didn’t mean things weren’t awkward without anyone else in the house. Usually, Techno and Phil were around, which made the two of them feel more at ease with each other. Tommy shuffled his feet awkwardly at the doorway and Wilbur did the same.

“I’m gonna be in the living room, you can hang out in your room or chill with me,” Wilbur told him after a few seconds.

Tommy nodded before heading up to his room. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be around Wilbur right now, but his Energy was getting antsy again and he didn’t want to open the valve too much with Wilbur that close.

He was reading a book Techno had given him when Wilbur knocked on his door.

“Come in,” Tommy said, looking up at the door.

Wilbur opened the door and walked through.

“I was thinking we could have lunch out in the forest today,” Wilbur said, gesturing to the wicker basket he was holding.

Tommy considered this before nodding. Outside, there was plenty of space he could open the valve without bothering the older boy. He got up from the bed and followed Wilbur outside.

He led Tommy through the forest onto a route that he had clearly travelled before. While there wasn’t an obvious path, Tommy noticed the grass seemed shorter along where they walked. He also saw how branches were almost never a problem for them. Finally, they reached a small, shallow stream with a few stepping stones. Just beyond the stream was a large clearing.

Tommy couldn’t help but stare at it. The grass was the kind of lush, bright green you thought only existed in paintings, the clouds white and fluffy against a perfect cerulean sky. The trees across from the clearing swayed gently in the breeze as if greeting the two boys.

“You coming?” Wilbur asked from across the street with a grin.

Tommy shook his head, noticing that Wilbur had already crossed the stream, before quickly hopping along the stones himself.

They shook out the blue blanket that Wilbur had brought along the far edge of the clearing under a large oak tree. Tommy took a seat on opposite corners while Wilbur leaned against the oak’s trunk.

Wilbur pulled a plate of plastic wrap-covered sandwiches from the basket as well as a thermos of cold lemonade and even a bowl of cookies.

“Tell me what it was like. Living out there on your own,” Wilbur asked once they each had a sandwich.

Tommy was about to loudly refuse before he realized this was an olive branch. Wilbur wanted to get to know him better. He wanted to understand him.

And really, that was what Tommy wanted. He wanted to be understood. He wanted someone to know about his story, to know about the time he had challenged himself to scale the highest building in the city he had been staying at, about the summer he had spent wandering the coast.

But he also wanted someone to know about all the thunderstorms he had spent in small caves or under a canopy of trees. He wanted someone to know about all the close calls he had had with both the cops and the coats.

So, he told him. He told him all this and more. He told him about all the lonely nights with only the moon as company and the days he spent just existing in the hustle and bustle of a big city, trying to feel less lonely. He told him about the few times he had ended up staying with people and how he had ended up needing to leave them as well.

And Wilbur listened. He listened to all the highs and the lows. Tommy watched the myriad of emotions flicker on the older boys face as he told him about the past four years.

And at the end of it, Wilbur pulled him in for a hug, promising that he would never be alone again. Promised him that those days were well behind him.

And unlike some of the promises people had made in the past, these felt like they had substance. Like Wilbur believed in every word he said. And Tommy couldn’t help but believe too.

They stayed there like that for a while, Tommy comfortably nestled against Wilbur.

Unfortunately, the peace didn’t last. It didn’t take long before his Energy started demanding to be let out again. He moved around a bit, trying to alleviate the physical pressure. Unfortunately, Wilbur immediately caught on to what was going. He moved Tommy off of him and they ended up looking at each other again.

“I know you avoid unblocking your Energy because of me, and I can’t even begin to describe how sorry I am about that. But let me teach you how to use it,” he told Tommy.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Tommy said, his voice lowered, remembering Wilbur’s corpse from his nightmare.

“Tommy, look at me,” Wilbur said, waiting until he met his eyes before continuing. “It was a mistake telling you that, especially the way I did it. But you have to learn how to use it or it’s gonna control you. You have to be the one controlling it. And besides, you would never hurt me on purpose.”

Tommy hesitantly nodded.

The two boys found themselves closer to the stream with Wilbur explaining Energy and how it works.

“Do you remember that place I told you about? Cerulea?” Wilbur asked.

“A little,” Tommy responded, the days had been hectic with his attempted escape, so the finer details had become fuzzy.

“Cerulea is where all Energy originates from. Everyone born there had Energy. There used to be portals between here and there, once those opened it didn’t take very long for Ceruleans and people from this world to start families together. Anyone with any Cerulean lineage has a chance of manifesting Energy. Unfortunately, non-Energized people found a way to steal our Energy so the Grand Council decided to close off the portals and evacuate Ceruleans to this world. 

“Except it didn’t work as well as they thought because Energy was still able to flow between the worlds. Energy is the foundation of both worlds. Everything that exists naturally has Energy, and those gifted with Energy, like you and I, are able to manipulate it. Energy flows through the world in a raw form, so we’re not limited to what’s actually there. Only by the elements around us.

“For example, someone whose Energy is water only needs a puddle to start a tsunami. But it comes at a price. Using too much Energy at once can kill you. But the lethal amount is so great you don't need to worry about it.

“But you’re different from most people. While most people can only draw Energy from the earth, you can draw it from people. You can tap into other people’s Energy stores and use whatever they have. And you can draw from the earth too, but that’s not as effective for you for you,” he explained.

Tommy nodded. That was a lot of information. He wondered what Cerulea was like, if Energy felt different there. He shook his head, he would have time for questions later, right now he needed to learn to control his Energy.

“Unblock your Energy and try to focus on the stream,” Wilbur told him.

Tommy closed his eyes and opened the valve a little bit at a time until he was just on the precipice of feeling overwhelmed. Despite this he could tell that what he had freed was a fraction of what he could actually use. Disregarding that, he sent his focus on the river. He focused on the sounds of the water running against the stones and the splashes of the small fish that were swimming. It felt like threading a needle. He could tell exactly where the Energy was, but he couldn’t latch onto it. It felt just barely out of reach. Still, he kept going at it until suddenly, he felt it. He felt the moment when his Energy connected with the Energy of the stream. He tugged in the water and felt as the stream moved closer to him.

He opened his eyes and stared in wonder as tiny rivulets of water gathered in the palm of his hand, staying there and wrapping around each other until it looked like he was holding an ethereal iron-wool sponge in his hand.

He felt a sudden spike through the pendant and he felt the way his Energy started pulling more and more Energy. He tried keeping it under control, but with his focus on the pendant and not the water, the water fell from his hand. He suddenly noticed the way he could hear the forest and, with horror, he realized he had pulled Wilbur’s Energy.

He wretched control back, pulling the Energy towards himself again the same way he had before he had gotten sick. He could hear Wilbur trying to reassure him, but he was too busy trying to battle the storm inside him. His Energy was demanding to be let out, he could feel the way it battled beneath his skin, rocking up against his soul. He clamped down on it, pulling the stray tendrils back to himself every time they tried to escape. Finally, he was able to block it off completely.

When he became aware again, he realized that he was on his back, breathing heavily. He felt his hand sandwiched between Wilbur’s hands and he heard him telling him to breathe.

He slowly took deep, steadying breaths as the world melted back into reality again.

“Are you okay?” Wilbur asked a few minutes later once Tommy had finally calmed down.

“Yeah, sorry. It-it was too much,” Tommy told him.

Wilbur tightened his grip on his hand, apologies written all over his face.

He helped Tommy sit up again, rubbing his hand gently on his back.

“We have to find a way to make it easier for you to keep the valves opening where you want them,” Wilbur muttered, already mentally searching for a solution.

They sat there together while Tommy recovered. The sun was low in the sky when he finally felt well enough to move.

They went back to the tree they had taken shelter under earlier to grab the basket, blankets and whatever leftovers had survived the afternoon.

Just as they were about to cross the stream, they heard a twig snap in the forest. Immediately the two of them were on high alert. They froze, their eyes searching the dense shrubbery in front of them.

Tommy caught a flash of black cloth moving through the forest and knew they were in trouble. He grabbed onto Wilbur’s hand in front of him. He pressed himself up against his side and watched as his fears were confirmed.

A tall man in a black trench coat and sunglasses emerged from the trees. His coat was open and Tommy saw a strange contraption hanging from his belt. It had two thick loops connected by a short thick rod in the middle.

The man smiled cruelly, walking forward in long, confident strides until the only thing between him and Tommy and Wilbur was the stream.

“I’ve finally caught you, and not only that, you have a friend,” the man said, sounding pleased with himself.

“What do you want from me,” Tommy demanded.

“A Pathfinder friend of mine felt your Energy as soon as you grew into it. He told me it was the most powerful Energy he had ever felt. I knew immediately that I wanted you. I’ve spent years chasing you, but you always managed to escape. Not this time though. This time, I will win. This time, you’re coming with me,” the man declared spreading his arms out.

“Like hell if I’ll go with you,” Tommy said, moving up to stand in front of Wilbur.

“My boy, as if you have a choice,” the man told him and he suddenly sent up a flare of light.

Tommy felt the wave of Energy he released as the flare went up.

Suddenly, five more men walked out from the forest, all wearing black trench coats and dark sunglasses.

He felt Wilbur beside him raise his hands, summoning sound, ready to fight. Tommy unblocked the valve just a crack more than it had been.

The reaction was instantaneous. One of the men raised his hands and a wall of water emerged from the previously calm stream.

A doorway opened up and the men walked through with vicious smiles on the faces. Another one quickly made a sweeping motion at the clearing and brambles grew along the edge of the forest with ruthless looking thorns growing out of them.

Tommy opened the valve completely and let his Energy flow towards the men, feeling as it sucked their Energy from them. He felt two of plant and water Energy respectively as well as light. But he felt one more. Pathfinding.

He pulled it towards him, feeling the storm back at full force as it pushed and pulled randomly. The water wall fell and became a sea of choppy waves, the brambles grew thicker and thicker with random flowers scattered throughout it. Light bled from his fingers, changing in colour and intensity. It was so much. Distantly he thought he heard someone exclaim “Raw Energy,” but he wasn’t sure.

He found himself on his knees as soon as he yanked the valve close again. He looked up, pleased to see the men all in similar positions. Only Wilbur was still standing.

“If you run, we’ll search this entire forest for you, I’m not letting you go, not now. This is the closest I’ve ever been to you in years,” the leader promised, standing up on shaky legs.

“Fight me,” Tommy challenged.

Confidence was key, so long as they knew that he wasn’t about two seconds from passing out, they wouldn’t risk it, at least he hoped.

The man smiled.

“I would be a fool to fight you with the other still standing,” he said.

Without Tommy noticing, one of the others had made their way closer to them. Not giving the boys time to react, the man made a large vine. Tommy watched in horror as the vine crept up on Wilbur, wrapping itself tightly around his legs and pinning his arms to his side. The worst part though wasn’t that. The worst part was the vine slowly wrapped itself against his neck. Wilbur kicked and squirmed trying to fight the vine, but the plant held firm.

“Let him go!” Tommy cried.

“Where did all that bravery go? Hm, little one?” the leader said condescendingly.

“He has nothing to do with this!”Tommy pleaded.

Things had just gotten better between the two of them. He couldn’t lose him already.

“If you win, he will be released. If you lose however...” Tommy watched in horror as the vines tightened at the end of the man's sentence.

Tommy considered his options. He was completely alone out here aside from Wilbur. He was in no condition to fight and he barely had any control over his Energy. It was a miracle his earlier stunt had worked and he doubted he would get that lucky again. If he lost, Wilbur was dead and there was no way Tommy was going to risk it. He was worth a lot more to them anyhow, plus he was sure if Phil had to pick between the two of them, he would pick Wilbur. Which made sense, he had only known Tommy for a little under to weeks. Tommy tried not to dwell on it though, it hurt to think about. 

He came to a decision. He steeled himself and took a shaky breath. Dread filled his gut as he peeled his eyes away from Wilbur and faced the leader.

“If I go with you, will you release him?” he asked shakily.

“You promise not to fight us?”

Tommy nodded his head, his throat closing up.

“Deal,” the man said immediately.

He heard Wilbur’s strangled protests from behind him as he approached the man with his hands raised.

He let the man put the cuffs that were hanging from his belt onto his wrists. He immediately felt like someone had put a weight in his chest.

“They’re Energy dampeners,” the man said, noticing the way Tommy shifted.

He put a hand on Tommy’s shoulder and started leading him out of the clearing across the stream.

“Aren’t you going to release him?” Tommy asked, stopping.

“I suppose,” the man said annoyed.

He turned around and watched the one who had made the vine snap his fingers and the vine disappeared. There was still a part of it tightly wrapped around his right ankle, firmly planted in the ground.

“He’ll be able to get it off on his own, don’t worry. That’s just to make sure he doesn’t follow us,” he said when he saw the look Tommy gave him.

Tommy reluctantly nodded and allowed himself to be guided out the forest.

He wondered if this was the last chapter of his autobiography.

At least if it was, he had a few good days. He supposed that they had been the calm before the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And on that note I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm taking about a week off of updating. Since the start of the year, I've been going pretty hard with this and I don't want to get burnt-out on it. 
> 
> Sorry about the cliffhanger but it had to happen. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone whos read up to here, I appreciate each and every one of you.
> 
> See you guys soon ^-^


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when he gets caught, this, this happens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ancient_Dee_Cyphers for beta'ing this 
> 
> I'm a filthy liar, I tried taking a break but I just couldn't resist 
> 
> Better for you guys lol

Tommy sat in the cell with his back against the far wall, hands down at his sides, weighed down by the manacles. They had removed the rod that had connected them but the manacles were left on to keep his Energy under control. His eyes wandered the cold, gray walls. The cell was small, Tommy barely had enough room to pace around, maybe 8 steps in every direction. It had grey-blue brinks along the floor, roof and three of its walls. The last wall had thick, rounded iron bars. 

He sighed, trying to remember what the outside was like. Despite the fact that he had spent most of the past few years on the run, his memories were slowly melding together and becoming one big blob of green. He never really paid attention to the finer details before, always relying on the fact that they would be there and never bothering to remember. 

He regretted that now. The still images of trees, grass, and rivers were lifeless without the details. He wanted to remember how the world would smell after rain, or the way that leaves would gently sway in the wind. He wanted to remember the way that grass faded into sand by riverbanks and how the rough, uneven bark of trees felt under his fingertips. The smaller details, he was slowly coming to realize, were what gave the world character.

His last memories were from him and Wilbur in the clearing and the ensuing fight.

Tommy faintly remembered that day. After he had given himself up, the coats had led him to a black van and shoved him into the back. He didn’t know how long they drove before they stopped on the side of a forest. They walked for a while before arriving at the mouth of a small cave. The entrance of the cave looked fairly standard, with low ceiling grey rock and random stones scattered throughout. Probably something Tommy would have taken shelter in during a thunderstorm.

But they kept going and that was where the real cave was. They followed the tunnel underground with the leader, the one with light Energy leading the way, illuminating the tunnel. After a while, they reached a flat bit and soon after that, they arrived at what turned out to be the main entrance.

It was massive with fifty-foot rounded ceilings. Light fixtures lit with fire hung everywhere, giving the place an eerie feel. Tommy saw tunnels branching off of the main one. The tunnels were much like the tunnels that had brought them here, low and narrow, nothing like the main one.

Once they had arrived, they had taken Tommy even lower, but what he had seen had terrified him. The tunnel they took him down was clearly another main tunnel with its slightly higher ceiling and wider hallways. It contained cells crammed with people, Tommy could immediately tell that they were Energized. While none of them had Energy dampeners on his wrists like him, he could tell that the bricks themselves were the dampeners.

The path they led him down was long and winding, with the main tunnel branching off into other directions. Eventually, they had reached a thick iron door. They had led him down a long hallway and had reached a much smaller cell-block. Contrary to the higher cells, these cells were much smaller and didn’t lead anywhere else. This was the end of the line.

They fed him two meals a day. One consisted of a mushy grain that he assumed was supposed to be oatmeal, and the other consisted of a thick, bland stew with overcooked vegetables and meat that was almost impossible to chew. So far, he had eaten six of the mush and five of the stew, so he assumed he had been there for a little under a week.

He decided to walk around the cell for a bit. He stood up, ignoring his protesting muscles. He didn’t have very much time left before…

He heard the clanging of the iron door being opened. The footsteps that followed put him on edge. He walked closer to the door to greet them.

The man smiled cruelly as soon as he came into view./  
“Ready, boy? We have a new member we wanted you to help out,” he taunted, his voice sending the temperature plummeting by about five degrees.

Tommy stood up shakily, knowing better than to resist. He walked toward the door and when they opened it, he inserted himself in the middle like they expected him to. They flanked him and led him down the hall and up the stairs.

He knew where he was going, but that didn’t make it any easier. His feet dragged along the floor, his mind wandering to the previous days, barely paying attention to where he was. Without realizing it, they had arrived.

The guards took their place by the door, leaving him standing in the middle of the large room. He looked towards the massive stone structure that was built to look like scales. He looked around, wondering for the thousandth time if there was a way out. Seeing nothing, he forced himself to walk towards it. His Energy was protesting, as it usually did, he felt the way it pushed him away, but he knew the consequences of resisting. He slowly climbed the stone steps, his heart thudding in his chest.

He reached the flat, circular platform at the top and stood in the middle like he had been told to. His eyes looking at the ground, tracing the swirling runes that had been carved there. He understood what they meant. He saw the rune for transmutation and the rune that meant ‘giver’.

He watched as someone from the small crowd peeled away from the group and climbed the stairs. He looked down at the manacles and wondered if he would ever be able to leave. If he would ever be able to use his Energy again, if he would ever even learn how to control it.

He watched as the leader, Alejandro, introduced himself and approached the stone structure.

“Ready, Matthew!” he said, clapping his hands.

The man on the other platform made a noise of affirmation and Alejandro approached the middle of the structure. He placed his hands on it and Tommy felt Alejandro’s Energy flow through the structure. The runes on the ground beneath him started glowing and he braced himself.

But as much as he tried, it still stung. His soul felt like it was being torn in half, he felt his Energy force itself through small gaps in his core, flowing away from him. It felt so wrong. His essence was being shredded from his spirit. The fabric of his being was being ripped away from him. He could feel himself being stretched in all directions.

As quickly as it started, it ended. He fell to his knees, defeated. It was done, whoever was on the other side of the structure, Matthew, he vaguely remembered, now had a small store of Raw Energy. His own Energy would replenish by tomorrow and the process would repeat. He felt the familiar emptiness settle inside of him as it had been doing since that first awful day. He panted, trying to calm himself down after the ordeal. He was becoming too familiar with the process. He felt any leftover Energy trying to fill out the space inside him, but there was only so much it could do.

He heard the thud of footsteps before he was being yanked up, a hand grabbing each arm. They started dragging him back down, not caring whether he could walk yet.

He was used to this though, as soon as he felt able he would put his feet down and start walking again. Until then, he let himself be dragged through the tunnels.

When they arrived back at the all too familiar hallway, he saw Alejandro waiting by the cell door.

“Tommy! Congratulations, you’re getting a roommate,” he said, grinning widely.

Tommy didn’t have anything to say to that, so he kept his gaze on the floor.

“Now usually, we would put you together with someone else with Raw Energy, but you’re the only one we have. And usually, he would be put with his own kind, but that entire cell block is full so I’ve decided to be generous and put him with you,” Alejandro continued.

Tommy just shrugged, still feeling empty. He walked into the cell hearing the familiar click of the lock. He was about to collapse into the nest of thin blankets he had been given when he noticed someone else huddled in it.

Tommy waited until the guards left before he spoke.

“Who are you?” it came out harsher than intended, but he was too tired to care.

“Tubbo,” the brunette said.

He stood up from where he had curled into the blankets, clearly on edge. He was a fair bit shorter than Tommy, but he was probably about his age. He was clearly new, based on the way that his green polo shirt and jeans were relatively clean aside from a few smudges of dirt scattered throughout. When Tommy spoke next, he made sure to keep his voice softer, Tubbo had probably been captured like him.

“How long have you been here?” Tommy asked.

“I just got here,” he told him plainly.

Tommy went to sit down against the wall, exhaustion coming in waves.

“Are you ok?” Tubbo asked suddenly, moving to sit next to Tommy.

“I’m fine,” Tommy said tiredly.

“Then why do you look so tired?” Tubbo asked.

“They stole my Energy,” Tommy told him, forgetting that Tubbo didn’t know.

He felt Tubbo freeze next to him.

“What do you mean?” Tubbo asked, trying to keep his voice even, but fear permeated every word.

“Every day, they come to transfer my Energy to someone else. It hurts. It hurts so bad,” Tommy wasn’t aware of his emotions, but his voice broke at the end of the sentence.

He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself, but he couldn’t stop the tears. Tubbo tentatively wrapped his arms around Tommy’s thin frame. The dam broke. Violent sobs wracked his body as he finally processed the events of the past week. Tubbo just held him, and Tommy felt endless amounts of appreciation for the boy he had only just met.

When he had calmed down, he explained to Tubbo what the coats had done to him. Horror filled Tubbo’s wide brown eyes, but Tommy assured him that he would be there for Tubbo once they took him./  
The guards came by with dinner and Tubbo subconsciously hid himself behind Tommy’s taller frame.

That night, after they ate and divided the blankets between the two of them, they talked. Tommy found it easier to open up to Tubbo than he had to Phil or Techno. He told him about his life on the streets, the way he had needed to survive on his own. Tubbo listened, and when he teared up when he started talking about Phil, Wilbur and Techno, Tubbo crawled out of his little nest and comforted Tommy. In return, Tubbo told Tommy about his own life.

Tubbo had been picked up by a girl named Niki when he was ten, she had detected the Energy on him. His Energy was manipulating Earth, Tubbo eagerly told Tommy about the way he had been able to make vines grow to climb up tall cliffs. Niki had taken Tubbo to a safe haven for Energized people.

Tommy felt a pang of jealousy when Tubbo told him about the small pseudo-family he had gathered at the haven.

Eventually, Tubbo went back to his bed, but the pair continued talking late into what they assumed to be the night.

It wasn't until hours later that Tubbo finally asked the question that had been bothering him since he had first gotten there.

“Do you think we’ll be able to get out of here?” Tubbo asked timidly.

“I don’t know, big man,” Tommy answered honestly.

The two boys drifted off to sleep not long after that, only being awakened by breakfast the next morning.

To both their surprise, only Tommy was dragged away the next day, Tubbo staying safely tucked away in their cell. That continued on the next day and the next.

They developed a routine, Tubbo taking care of Tommy and just supporting him when he came back. Them talking about their past lives, sweet memories of the outside world. They became very close very quickly. Eventually, one night, Tubbo sheepishly brought up the idea of them combining the two piles and making one large nest. Tommy readily agreed, and their bond continued to grow.

One day about two weeks after Tubbo’s arrival, and about three after Tommy’s own, it happened.

They took Tubbo. Tommy had been preparing Tubbo for when they eventually did, but it was still jarring for it to have happened. That night, Tommy was the one comforting Tubbo, wrapping him tightly in his arms and soothing him. It reminded Tommy of his first day, about the searing pain that had burned through every cell of his body.

But holding a sobbing Tubbo in his arms woke something up inside of Tommy, it woke up the survival instinct that the cave had long since stolen away from him. It awoke the fire in him, the one that used to burn so brightly. The one that yelled and screamed for him to keep moving. But this time it wasn’t directed at him, it was directed at Tubbo.

Holding Tubbo as he slept that night, Tommy made a decision. He was going to get Tubbo out of there if it was the last thing he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^-^


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy starts to feel the full effects

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my break is over and its time to grind again
> 
> Thanks to Ancient_Dee_Cyphers who is my beta

Two weeks later, Tommy sat alone in the cell. He was waiting for Tubbo to be brought back, it had been his day today. His day to get his essence stolen from him. Tommy clenched his fists at the thought of Tubbo being hurt.

Since he had made the silent promise, he had been slowly trying to make an escape plan. This was a lot easier said than done though, with him only being brought out briefly to one room. Still, he had to try. If not for himself, then for Tubbo.

He marvelled at how different his situation was than it had been even just a month ago. He had been on the run, constantly hungry, but worst of all, he had been alone. Then he had ended up in that little town with Wilbur, Techno and Phil. And then the picnic had happened and he ended up here.  He had been cold, hungry, trapped, and alone. But then, along came Tubbo.

Tubbo, who had shown him love and kindness in a bleak, hopeless situation. Who had been there and cared for him at his most vulnerable. Who he would protect if it cost him his life.

He wouldn’t let anyone who he cared for be hurt. Not if he could help it. They were the reason he had any hope at all. The universe had decided to hurt him and he refused to let anyone else be collateral.

He sighed, leaning his back against the wall behind him, wondering how Tubbo was doing. Some days they went easier, they took less. Other days they took so much that they had to drag him the entire way back. Those were the worst days for Tommy. When all Tommy could do was hold him and talk until he fell asleep.

Tommy, more often than not, got the worst of it. He supposed it was because he had Raw Energy and it was much rarer. He always tried to downplay it in front of his friend, but it was getting harder and harder to do as he and Tubbo got closer. As much as he hated worrying him, he couldn’t help but revel in the warmth and careful love that Tubbo gave him after those days.

Finally, he heard the door open. The footsteps bounded down the stairs and he saw Tubbo come into view with two guards behind him.

Oh, that was right, the boys had been weakened to the point where they only sent two guards to get them. Tommy let out a small bitter laugh at the thought.

The guards opened the door and roughly shoved Tubbo inside. Tommy caught him, well used to their treatment of the brunette at this point. He sent them his usual glare before guiding him to their nest of blankets. The older immediately collapses into them. Tommy sits himself down carefully after him and then adjusts them both so that he’s holding Tubbo.

“How was it today?” he asked.

“It wasn’t too bad. Maybe half my Energy,” the brunette responded.

Tommy winced a bit. While Tubbo was telling the truth that it wasn’t so bad, it was much better than the amount that they took from Tommy, it was still more than Tommy would’ve liked.

The two sat there for a while in a comfortable silence.

A little later, Tubbo shifted to he was sat facing Tommy, his face looking serious.

“Why do you never use your Energy?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” Tommy asked, confused.

“I try to use at least a little bit of mine every once in a while. Little vines and stuff, flowers sometimes. But I’ve never seen you use yours at all,” Tubbo said.

That gave Tommy pause. It was true. While Tubbo would occasionally decorate their cell with little vines or randomly sprout a daisy, Tommy hadn’t even attempted to call upon his Energy since he had gotten here.

“It just seems really hard with the dampeners, you know?” he said, subconsciously twisting one of the manacles.

The truth was that he didn’t want anything to do with his Energy anymore. His Energy was the reason that he was where he was. It was what caused all this. While it was true that there was a certain thrill that had come from using it, he was also dangerous. He had heard what Wilbur had gone through, he had seen what he was capable of.

And in a twisted way, he couldn’t help but think that it was best that he was locked up, deep beneath the Earth’s surface where he couldn’t hurt anyone. That it was best where he was, away from any potential victims. He deserved this.

But Tubbo didn’t. He didn’t deserve it at all. Tubbo had told him the tales of his childhood. About the time he learned to ride a bike, about the time his class had gone to an orchard and he had befriended the bees when he was nine.

He told him about when he turned twelve and his Energy had manifested. About how he had spent months hiding it from his parents and how he had taught himself to make vines and small patches of flowers. About how Niki had found him (she was a Pathfinder too it turned out), and how she had made him explain to his parents what he was and how she convinced them to let her take Tubbo to a safe haven. About how he had spent the next four years with her until he had been taken. He told him about all the friends he had made along the way.

All this only strengthened his resolve to get Tubbo out of here. He had a family, people who knew him and cared for him.

The next day, he was woken up by the usual breakfast trays being slid through the slot in the door. He was a lighter sleeper than Tubbo so he had to gently shake him awake. He would’ve just gotten up and eaten breakfast on his own if Tubbo hadn’t latched onto him in the middle of the night like he usually did when he slept. Tommy wanted to be annoyed by it, but he couldn’t help but smile fondly at the way the brunette’s arms were wrapped tightly around him.

Once he had awoken the older boy, he stood up and brought the food back to him.

“Tommy,” Tubbo said a few seconds later.

“Yeah,” Tommy said, looking up from his food.

“Did you want to borrow my Energy?” Tubbo offered.

Tommy furrowed his eyebrow.

“Why would I do that,” he asked confused.

“Well, I know not using Energy for a while doesn’t feel very good, and with those dampeners on it’s probably really hard to get even a little bit. Take my hand and just use mine for a bit, just a few vines or something. You don’t even have to use it if you don’t want to. With Raw Energy, just pulling from me should do it,” Tubbo explained.

Tommy considered it before furiously shaking his head. For all that he had told Tubbo, his hatred and fear of Energy was not something he had mentioned.

He knew that if he took Tubbo up on his offer that he ran the risk of doing what they did to them on the daily. He refused to run the risk of hurting Tubbo like that.

Tubbo frowned.

“Tommy, it’s really bad for you to keep your Energy inside you like that,” he said gently.

“I’d rather not,” Tommy said, shuffling further away from Tubbo.

They didn’t say anything for the rest of the meal.

Tommy had never felt so relieved to be taken away. The silence between him and Tubbo was suffocating.

He walked up the stone structure unprompted once they arrived. He scoffed at himself, at how low he had stooped. When he had first arrived, they had needed to threaten him quite a bit before he finally gave in. And even after that, there has always been apprehension and reluctance in his gait. But now…

Alejandro strode in as usual, his cloud of followers chatting amongst himself. One of them detached from the group and walked up the other set of steps.

Alejandro walked forward, a particularly cruel smile on his face today.

“I hope you sleep well,” he said while looking up at Tommy, his lips twisted upwards.

Tommy was trying to figure out what that meant when he saw the guards that had brought him here wheel in a stretcher. His eyes widened in horror as Alejandro started.

He quickly fell to his knees in an attempt to keep himself conscious. But this was the worst it had ever been. He felt both like he was being burned alive and like he was in the middle of a blizzard. His cells felt like they were tearing themselves apart and simultaneously stitching themselves back together.

Needles danced across his skin while his vision blurred, turning white.

He distantly felt himself fall onto his back, the gentle thud doing nothing for the cacophony of pain that he was currently in.

Finally he spotted a pinprick of black in his vision. He willed it to expand, he willed the thick cotton in his ears to dissipate and for the sound to overwhelm him. He watched as the spot grew and grew until he was hanging onto his consciousness by a thread.

And then he let go. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >:)


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tubbo takes care of Tommy in the aftermath of the last chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta Ancient_Dee_Cyphers, especially for giving me a hand in the ending

Tommy slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by the grey bricks of their cell. Sitting up with a jolt, he remembered what had happened. Immediately there was a gentle hand pushing against his chest, trying to get him to lie down again. He resisted briefly before he became aware of the pounding headache.

He laidback down and Tubbo quickly came into view. He pushed the hair back from Tommy’s eyes before putting the back of his hand onto his forehead. Satisfied with what he found, he pulled a thick blanket from beside him and tucked it tightly around Tommy’s shoulders.

“How do you feel?” the brunette asked softly.

Tommy assessed his body, feeling the steady ache that thrummed beneath his skin.

“Like I’ve been hit by a train,” he croaked after a minute.

Tubbo nodded.

“I’d be surprised if you said you were fine, and I would know you’re lying. They brought you back in a stretcher and you’ve been out since,” Tubbo explained.

“How long ago was that?” 

“A few hours ago, I think. You had a bit of a fever for a while, but I think it’s gone now,” Tubbo told him.

Tommy nodded as silence fell between them. He wanted to close his eyes and sleep more but he also wanted to stay awake.

“I- do you remember what happened?” Tubbo asked tentatively.

“They just drained a lot more Energy than normal,” Tommy said feigning nonchalance.

Tubbo’s eyes, however, widened in horror at the statement.

“They already take so much more from you than they do for me,” he whispered fearfully.

Tommy averted his eyes.

“Yeah, I guess they wanted more than usual,” he said.

Tubbo didn’t say anything else, but drew his lips into a thin line.

They didn’t say anything for a while and Tommy’s body apparently took that as a sign that he should go back to sleep. He tried keeping his eyes open, jolting himself awake whenever he felt his eyes close for more than a few weeks.

Tubbo noticed this and came closer to Tommy before grabbing his hand.

“Sleep. You’ve been through a lot. Your body needs the rest,” he told him gently.

Tommy’s body relaxed further into the nest beneath him at the permissive tone.

“Don’t leave me,” he slurred, sleep already taking over his mind.

Tubbo smiled fondly at the younger boy and quickly came over to the nest and put Tommy’s head in his lap. He ran his fingers through his greasy blond hair, lulling him to sleep.

When he woke up, there were sharp words and icy tones. He couldn’t make out the words at first. He blinked away the remnants of sleep quickly, noticing how he was pulled against someone’s chest with their arms wrapped protectively against his torso.

He looked at the door and saw two guards standing there with trays of food.

“You won’t seriously take him tomorrow,” came a voice from behind him. Tubbo.

“Listen, kid. We don’t choose who comes on what days, we just do what we’re told,” the taller of the guards said, his voice hard.

“Look at him! Do you really think he’s able to go through that sick process again so soon?!” Tubbo yelled.

“Just take the food and make sure he’s ready for tomorrow,” the short one said, annoyed.

The guards fit the trays through the slot before walking away.

He felt Tubbo sigh behind him.

“I’ll be fine tomorrow,” Tommy said.

Tubbo jumped at the sound of his voice.

“You’re awake,” Tubbo said.

“Yeah.”

“How much of that did you hear,” Tubbo asked tiredly.

“Just the end of it, I think,” Tommy responded.

Tubbo nodded.

“I’m gonna put you down and get our food, okay?” he said.

Tommy grunted in assent, immediately missing Tubbo’s presence when he was carefully laid down again.

Tubbo returned with the trays of food. He helped Tommy sit up against the wall before handing him his food. Tommy tried reaching out for the food and pouted when Tubbo pulled it away from him.

“What gives?” he demanded without any heat behind the words. He was too tired to really get angry.

“I don’t want you to spill it,” Tubbo explained.

Tommy was about to ask what he meant when he caught sight of the way his hands trembled. He then noticed how heavy his arms felt. He wasn’t sure if he could hold the bowl properly.

Tommy slumped, defeated. He was starving, but he wouldn’t be able to eat until his hands stopped shaking.

Tubbo clearly caught on to Tommy’s line of thinking.

“I-I could feed you,” he offered shyly.

Tommy’s head snapped up to Tubbo considering the offer. On one hand, he didn’t want to look or feel weak. On the other hand, he had started to trust Tubbo. He knew that Tubbo wouldn’t mock him for needing to be fed.

He hesitantly nodded.

Tubbo scooted closer to him and quickly dipped his spoon into Tommy’s bowl and brought it to his lips. Tommy eagerly accepted the food and while Tommy chewed, Tubbo took a few bites of his own.

They continued like that for a while. With Tommy taking his time chewing thanks to the aftereffects of the Energy drain and Tubbo eating a bit faster than normal in order to make sure that Tommy got his food as quickly as possible.

Unsurprisingly, Tubbo finished first and ended up constantly having the spoon ready to go. But Tommy never felt pressured into eating faster.

By the time he finished eating, Tommy was tired again. Tubbo caught on to this and quickly moved them into their usual sleeping position. Tommy quickly fell asleep again, snuggling into the warmth and comfort that his best friend provided him.

They woke up the next day to breakfast clattering through the slot as usual. This time, Tubbo was the one to get it.

“Hold out your hands,” Tubbo asked when he approached Tommy with the trays.

Tommy complied and cringed when his hands shook.

“Do you think you can hold the spoon?” Tubbo asked gently.

Tommy wanted so desperately to say yes, but his arms were already tired from the few seconds they had been up so he reluctantly shook his head.

“That’s fine. I’ll just feed you again,” Tubbo said softly, his tone leaving no room for Tommy to feel shame.

They ate in silence, the only sounds being their chewing and Tommy asking for a few sips of water every once in a while.

Once breakfast was finished, they sat together in the nest.

“I really think that you should take my Energy,” Tubbo said a while later.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Tommy said without thinking.

“What do you mean ‘hurt me’?” Tubbo asked, sounding confused.

Tommy sat up and moved himself further away from Tubbo. Well, as far as he could get when they were a tangled mess of limbs and thin blankets.

“Tommy?” Tubbo asked as Tommy stared at the ground.

This was it, this was the end. After today he wouldn’t have a friend, he would be alone again. He wiped the lone tear that had managed to escape.

Tommy took a deep breath before it all came tumbling out. The way he had first discovered his Energy, the story Wilbur had told him, the nightmare and the rush of power he had experienced in the meadow. The thrill of being in control.

When he finished, he stared determinedly at the ground, not wanting to see the look of disgust that he was sure would be on Tubbo’s face.

“Tommy, you know that none of that’s your fault. Right?” Tubbo asked softly.

“Don’t you understand, Tubbo? I’m dangerous. I can hurt people. I can’t use my Energy like that,” Tommy said vehemently.

“Tommy, you just need to learn control. You’re learning,” Tubbo soothed.

“I can’t control it, that’s the thing. And if I ever learned? What’s to stop me from becoming like the guy that hurt Wilbur,” he yelled his eyes wild and crazed. It was clear that Tommy had been thinking like this for a while.

“Am I dangerous then?” Tubbo challenged.

“What? No!” Tommy sputtered.

“I can strangle people with vines, or trip them with tree roots,” Tubbo said.

“But that’s different,” Tommy said defensively.

“Is it really though?” Tubbo asked.

“Yes,” Tommy said weakly.

“Tommy, please just take my hand and use your Energy. It’ll probably help you feel better. I promise, I’ll let you know if you hurt me,” Tubbo pleaded.

Tommy knew a losing battle when he saw one so he reluctantly took Tubbo’s outstretched hand and focused on his Energy.

He couldn’t help but sigh in relief as he felt Tubbo’s Energy intertwine with his own. He felt free and powerful. He set his sight on a crack on the ground. He called for the small vine he had watched Tubbo make countless times over the course of their time together. It felt so natural and he basked in the gentle presence of his friend’s Energy mixing with his own. 

Tubbo moved closer to him as he watched the way that Tommy used his Energy.

Tommy gaze followed the vine as it sprouted upwards and the tendrils stretched out from the main growth. He felt Tubbo dip into his Energy as felt as the older boy made small daisies sprout from the vine.

Tommy had never felt so free, even with the manacles around his wrists and the walls that surrounded him, in this little room he could be who he truly was.

And it was all thanks to the short brunette next to him.

He felt a sudden shift in the Energy around them. Their Energy twisting around and combining. The two streams in the room steadily melded into one. He watched as the previously invisible Energy became a blinding silver. The Energy took on a mind of its own as the vine was reabsorbed into the main stream.

It danced around the cell twisting and turning with an unearthly grace. It looked like a liquified mirror.

Finally, it surrounded the boys who had been too confused to do anything. The stream turned into a ball, calling all the light in the room to it, then slowly two threads emerged from it. One thread went to Tommy and the other to Tubbo. And like a ball of yarn, the threads pulled Energy towards the boys as the orb shrank. Tommy felt the thread wrap around his soul. It wasn’t unpleasant by any means, just a bit odd. In the end, there was a singular thin silvery thread that connected that melted into the air.

When it ended, Tommy felt a second consciousness inside of him. He nudged it and was immediately flooded with warmth. It was Tubbo.

He looked to Tubbo, who looked how Tommy imagined he did, his mouth was open in a perfect ‘o’ and his eyes were full of wonder.

“It’s an Energy Bond,” Tubbo whispered in awe.

“What’s that?” Tommy asked.

“No one really knows how they form, just that it happens between two people that form a really strong connection,” Tubbo said looking at him with gentle adoration.

“But what does it  _ do _ ?”

“We’ve been connected by our Energy. We’re bonded. The thread you saw earlier still connects us, we just can’t see it anymore, through it we’re able to talk to each other.  _ Like this,”  _ he said the last part without moving his mouth.

Tommy jumped back slightly. He furrowed his brow in concentration before he found the thread.

“ _ Can you hear me,”  _ he asked through it.

Tubbo smiled widely.

“We’re also able to feel each other’s emotions,” Tubbo added.

Tommy’s smile fell quickly. He didn’t need Tubbo to suffer through the hatred and the fear that coursed through him every waking moment. He didn’t need to feel the paralyzing terror that went through him everytime he was taken up to the room. 

That night when they fell asleep, Tommy felt like he was back at the cabin. The bond made him feel safe, it made him feel like he was home.

And it was all because of Tubbo. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy recovers and a plan begins to form

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ancient_Dee_Cyphers as usual for beta'ing this fic

The boys were left alone for the next few days. Tommy was finally able to eat without help on the third day, albeit very slowly. But Tubbo didn’t even bat an eye at the pace at which he ate. He kept sending words of encouragement through their bond. Tommy’s chest felt tight with love every time he heard the echoey tone of his bonded.

Tommy had tried to stand up a few times but Tubbo had stopped him every time. He kept telling him that he needed to rest. Tommy scowled every time, but he was secretly relieved that he didn’t need to get up. As annoyed as Tommy acted whenever Tubbo acted like a parent, it secretly felt amazing to have someone care for him like that.

Although based on the fond little smile Tubbo had whenever Tommy grumbled, his bonded clearly felt the way Tommy internally preened when he was taken care of.

He found that he didn’t really mind the bond as much as he thought he would. He and Tubbo had quickly set up boundaries and neither boy ever thought about stepping over them. They found to feel their emotions and see what they were seeing they needed permission to access it. It felt like knocking on a door when they asked for it. 

The only thing that was open by default was talking to each other. They found themselves using it accidentally sometimes, having long meaningful conversations before one of them realized that they weren’t actually talking and devolving into fits of laughter.

On the fifth day, the guards came a little after their first meal of the day. They looked at each other, knowing what was coming.

_ “Will you be okay on your own?”  _ Tubbo asked him in his mind.

“ _ It could be me they’re here for,”  _ Tommy reminded him.

At this Tubbo frowned and shook his head.

_ “I won’t let them. You haven’t even stood up yet.”  _ “ _ Only because you won’t let me,”  _ Tommy argued.

“ _ You know exactly why I won’t let you.” _

_ “Tommy you have no idea how scary it was when they came and dropped you off in a stretcher. You were barely breathing, and at first, I thought that they dropped off your corpse, _ ” Tubbo said moving over and hugging Tommy tightly.

Tommy quickly wrapped his own arms around the brunette. Oh. Tommy hadn’t thought of that before. He looked at the boy between his arm as a protective feeling rose in his chest. He needed to get Tubbo out of here. He  _ needed  _ to.

The guards approached the cell and pointed at Tommy’s head.

“Get over here!” one of them barked.

Tubbo gently got Tommy off of him before he stood up and started walking forward.

“Not you. The blonde one,” another guard said.

“Are you serious?! He was out cold just a few days ago,” Tubbo said, his voice hard.

“He looks fine now. Just hand him over,” the guard said.

Before Tubbo could dig himself a deeper hole, Tommy decided to speak up.

“I feel fine, Tubbo,” he said.

Tubbo whirled around on him, his face pulled tight in disapproval.

“Absolutely not,” he said firmly.

“Look! I’m fine,” Tommy said, shakily standing up.

Tubbo rushed to his side before he could fall, looping an arm around his waist and pulling Tommy’s arm so that it was slung over his shoulder.

“Mhm,” Tubbo said, grunting under the sudden weight of his friend.

“Just give us the boy,” one of the guards said, sounding annoyed.

Tubbo reluctantly helped Tommy cross the cell before carefully handing him off to one of the guards.

They clearly didn’t care about the state he was in, simply grabbing his biceps, making sure he didn’t completely topple over.

As they dragged Tommy away, he felt Tubbo’s presence in his mind getting weaker and weaker until it wasn’t there at all. He felt empty without it. The warm feeling of his friend had become a constant in the past few days, even if they were totally, silent just the fact that he had a place in his subconscious had helped soothe him.

He was back in the room. He couldn’t help the panic that rose in his chest. He wanted out of here. He tried weakly moving his limbs in a poor attempt at escape.

In the midst of his panic, he felt something stir beneath his skin. His Energy. He reached for it, feeling the valve just out of reach. The pendant still tucked beneath his shirt, even if he hadn’t reached for it in a while, he suddenly became aware of its presence. Maybe he could do something with that.

The guards dragged him up the platform depositing him on his knee. He didn’t even try to stand up. He heard muffled words directed at him but he was too tired to even try to make out what was being said.

Soon enough, he felt the sickeningly familiar feeling of being torn up on an atomic level. Black clouded his vision as his body jolted in protest. He was about to give in when suddenly, Tubbo’s voice flooded his ears. It was only a small whisper but the sound seemed to reverberate through his skull.

“ _ Stay awake.” _

The sound of his voice gave Tommy a sudden surge of strength. He willed himself awake. The black in front of his eyes slowly faded away, giving way to the blurry colours of the room.

He heard footsteps approaching him before he was carelessly picked up and carried down the stone steps. He felt as he was roughly tossed onto a semi-soft surface. From there, movements got smoother but not gentler. He figured that he must be on a stretcher.

Eventually, he felt himself being taken down a familiar flight of steps.

They stopped in front of the cell door before roughly picking him up and shoving him into the waiting arms of Tubbo. He felt himself being gently lowered to the ground into the nest of blankets.

“Tubbo,” he rasped.

Tubbo jumped from where he was tucking a blanket tightly around Tommy’s shoulder.

“You’re awake,” he breathed

“Yeah, I got your message,” Tommy said weakly, his voice rough.

A small giggle escaped Tubbo’s lips, but it quickly turned into a sob as Tommy felt tears going down his own cheeks. Tubbo pulled Tommy into a tight embrace.

“We can’t stay here much longer,” Tubbo said between sobs.

“I know,” Tommy said.

The rest of the day was spent fairly uneventfully. Tubbo insisted that Tommy stay in the nest all day. When they were brought food, Tubbo helped Tommy sit up and propped him against the back wall. He fed Tommy and filled in the silence with more stories from his childhood, both through their bond and with his words.

When they were getting ready to sleep, Tommy put a hand on Tubbo’s shoulder.

“We have to work on escaping,” he told him in a low voice.

“I know,” Tubbo said looking down.

“We need a plan.”

“But what can we even do? We’re surrounded by Energy dampeners! You have some really strong ones on your wrist and they come and drain us every few days, you can’t even eat on your own right now,” Tubbo said, his words sharp and frustrated.

“Tubbo, I don’t think these dampeners are strong enough for me,” Tommy quietly admitted.

Tubbo scrunched his eyebrows confused.

“What do you mean?” he asked, tentative hope seeping into his tone.

“When I was back with Phil, he gave me something that let me block my Energy to a level that I was comfortable with, I’ve had it on the entire time I’ve been here. I forgot about it since I thought the dampeners were doing it, but today I think I accidentally unblocked it a bit. Maybe I have enough Energy to bypass the dampeners enough to escape,” Tommy whispered excitedly.

“You’re still weak from today,” Tubbo protested.

“I-yeah, we don’t have to start doing anything yet, just some reconnaissance,” Tommy said.

Tubbo looked up at the ceiling.

“I guess we should start then,” he said.

* * *

Tommy sat on the other side of the cell from Tubbo. He had pulled the pendant from beneath his shirt and was holding it in his palm. He hadn’t actually tried opening the valve since he had arrived, but now that he was holding it he realized how much it was still blocking his Energy.

He mentally looked around looking for the valve. It took much longer than he had thought it would.

Finally when he found he found it much harder to open than usual. But finally he managed to open it. He only opened it a bit, just enough to use properly, but not so much that he got overwhelmed. The Energy dampeners came in handy for that. They kept him grounded and in control.

The effect was instantaneous. He felt the familiar rush of power flood through his veins, his Energy attacking his soul in waves, demanding to be used. But unlike at the cabin, these demands felt gentler, more subdued. Like when your dog came up to you with a toy in its mouth asking to play.

He glanced at Tubbo.

“ _ Can I,”  _ he asked.

Tubbo winced before quickly nodding his head.

“ _ Sorry, your voice was just a lot louder,”  _ he said, catching Tommy’s concerned expression.

Tommy nodded before reaching out towards Tubbo’s Energy. He wasn’t completely comfortable with using Tubbo’s Energy, but the older boy had convinced him.

He frowned at the strength of his Energy, it was nothing more than a thin stream, he figured it was because of the Energy drains, but still. He made a few vines crawl along the walls, adding Tubbo’s signature flowers.

He couldn’t help but notice how right Tubbo’s Energy felt. It felt like returning home after a long day, like rediscovering an old toy from your childhood. He felt like home.

The next few days would find the boys trying to talk to each other from longer distances. But for now they would just revel in the moment. Bask in the slim hope that they had been given.

Because hope was more than the most powerful thing they had. It was all they had. And they would make sure that they would wield it with pride.

It was all they could do.

Hope. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big chapter coming soon. 
> 
> All I have to say is 
> 
> My power flurries through the air into the ground


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The great escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ancient_Dee_Cyphers as usual
> 
> This chapter is a doozy, my longest yet at 3.2k
> 
> Im genuinely so happy with it though.
> 
> Also the ending scene was inspired by EchotoneLIVE on Twitch during an Among Us stream. You have him to thank for it
> 
> He does really chill streams, you guys should check him out
> 
> https://www.twitch.tv/echotonelive

Tommy paced the cell, ignoring Tubbo’s grumbles about how he should be saving his Energy. He felt restless. Breakfast couldn’t come quick enough.

They had spent the better part of the last two weeks planning for today. He needed to be doing something. So, pacing it was.

He mentally checked the vault again to make sure it was open enough. It was, if maybe a little too open for his taste, but Tubbo had insisted on it.

A few minutes later, he felt a hand wrap itself gently around his forearm. He traced the arm until he met Tubbo’s eyes.

“ _ I know, but we have to be patient,”  _ he said.

Tommy dipped his head in resignation and let Tubbo lead him to the nest. Tubbo dragged him down into a sitting position before plopping his head in Tommy’s lap.

Grumbling, Tommy affectionately ran his fingers through Tubbo’s overgrown brown hair.

At some point, the boys must have fallen asleep because they were both abruptly woken up by the sound of the metal trays clattering against the stone.

Tommy jumped up quickly, releasing his Energy as he did. He prodded the Energy of the three guards, noticing how crooked it felt compared to Tubbo’s. He assumed it was because their Energy was stolen.

He quickly pulled the guard on the left’s Energy as soon as he felt it.

“Hey wa-,” but it was too late. A violent purple flash erupted from his fingertips leaving the guards unconscious.

Lighting Energy.

Tubbo scrambled to his feet, placing his hands on the cell doors. He summoned a thick vine to drag the bodies of the guards closer to them.

Each boy took a guard and started rifling through their pockets.

“Got it!” Tommy exclaimed, proudly holding up a thick oxidized key ring.

Tubbo took the key ring from his hand, frantically sticking the keys into the lock until he heard the relieving click of the lock being opened.

Both boys felt their shoulders release tension that they hadn’t realized they had.

“Should we bring a body?” Tubbo asked.

Tommy considered it for a moment. On one hand, it might be useful having Lightning Energy readily available, but they were weak. They would need to carry his body, and between the two of them, it was possible but it would be difficult.

Then Tommy remembered how wrong it felt using stolen Energy.

“No, it’s too much of a liability,” he said while shaking his head, making a snap decision.

“Then I guess we go,” Tubbo said, nervously shuffling his feet.

“I guess we do, big man.”

The boys walked down the hall, relishing in the feeling of moving without being surrounded. If they succeeded, then this tiny slice of freedom was just a taste of what was to come.

They were either getting out of there, or they would die trying. It was a grim outlook, but it was the only choice they had. Being recaptured would put them under intense scrutiny and security measures. Alongside that, if they were recaptured they would probably be subjected to even more intense Energy drains.

It was either they flew into the sky and let the sun kiss their skin again, or they would become Icarus and let the fire consume their wings.

Either they fought through the shadows to feel the sun’s gentle warmth, or they let the darkness become their eternal resting place.

They were both Orpheus and Eurdyce, they were both the rescuers and the victims. Would their music be enough? Or would they fall for the carefully laid out traps of Fate?

They were careful and painfully slow in their movements, with Tommy constantly checking to see if his Energy was being pulled in a random direction. And when it was, they either waited or went the other way.

Progress was slow, but if they wanted to get out, they would need to be careful. They had one chance, one opportunity. And they refused to blow it.

They approached the cell blocks.

“Do we try?” Tommy asked, looking back at Tubbo.

“Too many dampening bricks,” Tubbo said sadly.

In all their planning, Tommy had tentatively brought up the idea of trying to save other people. But they knew it was a possibility that they wouldn’t be able to.

“We can come back for them then,” Tommy assured Tubbo, knowing this would weigh heavily in his friend’s mind.

Tubbo sent him a weak smile before they continued on their way. The tunnels were slowly becoming more unfamiliar as they went. All they knew was that they wanted out. The light from the sconces on the walls became dimmer and dimmer as they went continued.

A little later, they found a heavy wooden door. It took their combined efforts to open it, but when they did they couldn’t have been happier. It was an armoury.

They quickly and quietly raided all the cupboards until they found suitable weapons.

They both ended up with thick but flexible and light leather tunics and knee pads. Tommy had also found a small but wicked dagger and matching sheath which he eagerly strapped to his hip while Tubbo found a sword with a sheath.

Tubbo had tried to convince Tommy to take a sword, but Tommy had explained that he was used to getting up close and personal with his opponents.

“Oh hey, I think this key might fit the manacles,” Tubbo said a while later while they took a quick break.

He held out the key for Tommy to compare to the keyholes on the cuffs.

Tommy looked down at his wrist, feeling nervous. The manacles were a good thing. They helped him control himself, they helped him learn. The weight that they brought had at first been a nuisance, but now it was normal, they were harmless, helpful even.

“I don’t want to make it easier for them to find me. Having my Energy free might do that,” Tommy told him looking down at his lap, his face hot as he lied.

Tubbo looked unconvinced but thankfully let the subject drop.

They put everything back to where they had found it before scurrying back down the hall. They still had no idea how to get out of there.

After many wrong turns and close calls, they finally found the entrance cavern. Tommy had at first been nervous about heading out, he felt a lot of Energy in that direction. A lot of Energy meant a lot of people, but they were lost and so they took a chance.

Tommy shuddered at the memories the room brought. He had been cuffed and dragged along these floors not so long ago. The pain of losing the only place he had ever called home still fresh in his mind.

Everything was eerily calm, as if fate herself was unsure of what would happen next. They crept up along the walls, trying desperately to remain hidden by the shadows.

“Hey! ” one man cried out. “They’re escaping!”

All the chatter in the room stopped, with only the gentle whispers of the wind filling the tense silence.

All at once, everyone sprung into action. Tommy and Tubbo wordlessly moved into a defensive stance while all the Coats in the rooms withdrew cruel weapons.

Tommy looked at Tubbo, who nodded, and they jumped into action.They fought thanks to the Energy that resided in both of them, they fought thanks to the centuries of warriors that had come before them. The bond between them moving them together, in sync. They fought as one. 

Tommy expertly weaved between the swords that came his way instead, opting to almost casually approach a coat before swiftly twisting his dagger into their bodies. Always on their thighs or arms. Always to maim, never to kill.

Tommy saw Tubbo a few times in the fight, he watched him as he mowed down hordes of coats at a time. His sword left a sickening trail of opponents on the floor that followed him.

Out of nowhere, a sudden flash of light bounced through the room stunning everyone.

“You fools! You have Energy! Use it!” a voice thundered.

It was like the entire room simultaneously remembered they had Energy.

A light switch had been flicked on. All the coats that remained standing summoned their Energy to their hands. Tommy watched as shards of ice, crackles of electricity, small flowers and clouds of water formed throughout the room. It was a deadly combination of elements. One which would most certainly get them killed.

The Energy in the room surged towards them. Tommy’s instinct was to shield Tubbo with his body.

He shut his eyes, tensely bracing for the impact when he felt his Energy solidifying around him. He opened his eyes and watched in awe as all the Energy in the room crashed into an invisible shield around him and Tubbo.

He reached into his pocket where he had put the key for the manacles. He fumbled with it, taking them off with a satisfying click. He gently rubbed at the sweaty and slightly raw skin, reveling in the feeling of it being free again.

That wasn’t the end though. He had one goal in that moment, to protect Tubbo and he would go to any length to achieve it.

He reached for the vault and let the door swing open.

This was it, this was what he was meant for.

He felt all the Energy in the room barrel towards him and he welcomed it with open arms. The thrum of Energy in his veins thumping like a second heartbeat. The world turned a blinding white as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. Water, earth, plants, rocks, wind, light, electricity and dozens more crowded in his soul, crashing against his heart, vying for a chance at freedom.

He had never felt more powerful. It was exhilarating. He focused on water and gently motioned with his arm and felt the way the water rushed forward, flooding the cavern. He breathed in, and when he exhaled, he released the tense wind that had been swirling inside of him.

They needed to leave, and he knew there was only one way that would happen. He heard Wilbur’s voice in his ear telling him that using too much Energy at a time would kill him.

He closed his eyes and focused on controlling the storm of Energy inside of him. He tightened the path it took inside of him until it was one singular torrential current inside of him.

And he let it go.

He felt it all leave his body in waves, he felt the way it burned his skin from the inside. His mind was a cacophony of colours and sounds and his body was nothing more than a vessel that had served its purpose.

He felt himself fall onto his knees from where he had been hovering. His body pounding in a painful rhythm. 

He felt himself being picked up his feet, finding solid ground beneath him. He distantly realized he was being half-carried by Tubbo and did his best to support himself. His feet clumsily hit the ground beneath him in feeble attempts at walking. He blinked and suddenly, they were exiting the mouth of the cave.

Tommy felt his strength slowly returning and he was able to walk more on his own. At the first touch of grass beneath his shoes he paused reveling in the fresh air around them. He basked in the cool glow of the early dawn. The sun hadn’t even risen yet.The silvery light shone through the gaps between the thin trees that littered the forest. The chilly air made them both shiver but they couldnt help but smile. They took deep breaths feeling the way the cold air filled their lungs. They felt  _ alive.  _

Tubbo led them away as far as he could before they collapsed into a thick copse of bushes that they had found. No more caves. Not for a while. They slept close to each other, grinning as the warm light of the sunrise painted the backs of their eyelids red.

They spent that first day recuperating, just lying in the soft leaves and taking turns sleeping. Or at least they tried to. There were multiple occasions where they ended up both being asleep and they woke up with their arms wrapped tightly around each other. 

Try as they might they were both still afraid. They jumped at every cracked twig kicked stone. They looked around constantly waiting for when they were recaptured. Even a bird taking off from a tree would send them into a panic.

After that first day ,when Tommy felt better, he slipped the manacles back on, feeling a twisted sense of relief when he heard the locks click into place. He later moved them so they were higher on his shoulder in an effort to hide them from Tubbo. He didn’t know if it worked, but Tubbo didn’t say anything, so he took it as a win.

They spent the next few days walking, trying to get somewhere, anywhere, it didn't matter so long as it was far away. Tommy led the way, he felt something pulling him forward. Anytime Tubbo tried to stray away from the path that Tommy felt his instincts pulling him to, he stopped. It wasn’t until Tubbo had the idea to blindfold Tommy and spin him around to see if he really was being called somewhere that he let Tommy lead.

Sure enough even blindfolded and disoriented beyond belief, Tommy always went the same direction. After that, Tubbo didn’t protest.

They scoured for food, mostly relying on the forest and Tubbo’s Energy to keep them fed. But they were both weak, even together they didn’t manage more than a few miles a day, spending most of their days either sleeping or gathering meager amounts of edible plants.

About a week and a half later, they were huddled between a few thinner trees that had grown very close when Tommy took off the manacles for a second when he felt something.

“They’re coming,” he whispered in horror.

Tubbo scrambled to his feet and helped Tommy up before they bolted.

As they ran, narrowly dodging the brambles beneath their feet and the branches that swiped at their heads, Tommy felt something else.

He sent his Energy forward searching for the familiar entity, he felt it latch onto something and he gave a firm yank.

His eyes scanned the skies as they ran, relying on Tubbo to keep him from falling.

He nearly cried with relief when he caught sight of a familiar pair of purpley-grey wings in the sky. He motioned for Tubbo to stop and he waved up at the figure.

Thankfully, it saw them and flew down to greet them.

“Phil!” Tommy cried, nearly collapsing as he ran over him to give the mana hug.

“Tommy! Are you alright?” Phil asked, hugging him back, wrapping his wings tightly around him.

“We could be better,” Tommy admitted.

“We?” Phil asked.

Then he spotted Tubbo.

“Oh, get over here,” Phil said, opening a wing and an arm.

Tubbo hesitantly approached the winged man, but eventually melted into the hug as well.

The three of them stood there, Tommy and Tubbo relishing in the way it felt having someone to protect them who didn't also need protecting. Phill relishing the feeling of having Tommy back, and of course whoever the brunette was. Whoever he was Phil would welcome him into his home with open arms.

“We don’t have a lot of time, Phil. ” Tommy said, reluctantly breaking the hug. “The coats… They’re coming.”

“Is that so? In that case I’d like to give them a piece of my mind,” came a familiar voice from the bushes.

Tommy looked over and saw Wilbur and Techno emerge from the foliage. Their faces held pure relief and happiness. As much as they wouldn't admit it ommy had really grown on them in his short time with them. Their eyes glistened with unshed tears at the sight of Tommy wrapped in Phil’s wings. They both knew there was no place that felt safer. And that feeling was exactly what Tommy needed right now. 

“Wilbur! Techno!” Tommy cried, tears forming in his eyes.

“Hey, kid,” Techno said affectionately at the same time that Wilbur said “Nice job on staying alive, gremlin.”

The twins swiftly joined the hug.

They stayed like that until Tommy felt the itch under his skin grow.

“Are there more of you?” he asked tentatively.

“No, this was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission,” Wilbur admitted.

Tommy focused on the itch and knew that they wouldn’t all be able to make it out.the coats were fast approaching and there were a lot of them. He could feel the crooked, stolen Energy from miles away. But they were fast approaching if his Energy was anything to go off of. 

“You guys have to run! They’re coming and they’re strong,” Tommy said, breaking the hug and pushing them away.

“Then we’ll take them,” Techno said as if it were that easy.

“No, you don’t understand,” Tommy pleaded. “They’re more powerful than you think! You have to run while you can.”

“Wait, Tommy, what do you mean by ‘you’, don’t you mean ‘we’,” Tubbo said, his tone accusatory.

“Tubbo, listen to me, I want you guys safe, and fighting them with only the five of us is way too risky.”

“And it’s safer for you to fight them alone?! You already did that and you were barely conscious! Do you not remember? You’ll  _ die _ if you do it again,” Tubbo yelled.

“Tubbo, I don’t have much to live for. I’m the youngest one here. I’m expendable. You have people who love you and care for you. Better me than any of you,” Tommy said, bitterness clinging to every word.

“No, that’s not how that works at all,” Tubbo said tears in his eyes.

“Yes, it is,” Tommy whispered.

“No, it’s not! I care for you, and these guys do too!” Tubbo yelled.

“They barely know me! they’ll move on quickly,” Tommy said, feigning nonchalance. Secretly, he didn’t want to leave them, but he refused to let any of them get hurt.

“We’re bonded, remember? I’ll feel the fact that you’re gone,” Tubbo said, crying and clinging tightly to Tommy.

“ _ I know, but I have to do this,”  _ Tommy said, shoving Tubbo away, his heart shattering, before he darted in the direction of the coats. He ran and ran, knowing he needed to get to them before his family did.

Family, he hadn’t used that word to describe anything ever. But he supposed it was fitting that when he was finally able to now that he would be torn away from them.

He finally found the coats and without hesitating, he called upon all the Energy, like he had in the cave. This time, he didn’t even bother trying to control it, he just contained it inside of him.

He felt it tighten around his soul, he was aware of the way it crashed through him begging to be released. So he did.

He took one last deep breath before he let everything go.

The world faded in and out of focus, the colours blurring together and bleeding between light and dark, life and death.

He smiled sadly, this was the end. He was free.

The last thing he saw before succumbing to the nothingness was the dark figure of an angel.

Peace. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might take a (very short) break for a bit from this fic
> 
> Im absolutely exhausted right now. 
> 
> I really hope you guys like this chpater, I poured my heart and soul into this and Im so happy with it


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy wakes up in a strange place.
> 
> **PLEASE READ AUTHORS NOTES, IMPORTANT UPDATE**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Ancient_Dee_Cyphers for beta'ing as usual
> 
> Ok, so I'm sure a few of you have realized that the chapter count says 16/18, don't worry, this isn't the end of the story.
> 
> But I realized that from a story-telling perspective it makes sense to split the story here. As soon as I finish this one I'll be posting book 2 at basically the same rate as Disturbance, maybe a bit slower. 
> 
> I'm going to aim for at least twice a week there, bit no set schedule.
> 
> This was never planned to be a two part story, I just feel like it makes sense to split it up.
> 
> Book 2 will pick up almost exactly where Disturbance will end with maybe a few weeks time slip.
> 
> If you want you can subscribe to the series to know when I start posting book 2.
> 
> Title will be revealed at the end of chapter 18.

Tommy felt consciousness brush against him, teasing him. He felt it in the slurred words that surrounded him, in the faint whispers of hands through his hair and the pain that pulsed through him in between the patches of nothingness. He felt it in the longing for Tubbo’s warmth when he was left alone, his thoughts breaching against the surface in the sea of awareness.

He didn’t know how long he drifted between the darkness and awareness, only knowing that people came and went like the tide of his mind. Sometimes he would hear people around him, feel them, even. Other times, the silence was almost worse than the waves of nothing that he swam through.

Tommy rose to the surface, his head breaching the nothingness for the first time in a long time. He felt the storm trying to drag him back down, but he kept swimming upwards. He was briefly pulled back down, but he had seen the sun and he was determined to never lose the light again.

He opened his eyes all at once. His body felt heavy and where there was a muted thump of pain before, it came back sharp and at full force as soon as awareness had flooded his senses.

He didn’t understand how he was alive, but he supposed that it didn’t matter.

He examined the room he was in. It was a fairly small room with the bed against the back and left walls. There was a tall dresser directly next to the bed that left a few feet of space between it and the right wall.

In front of him was about a bit of space and a closet, to the right of that was a small alcove with the door. Tommy couldn’t tell if there was a window, but he didn’t have the energy to check.

He laid there in the bed, with a thick white comforter over top of him, slowly gathering the strength to explore.

He was sure that someone would come back, but he wanted to walk around for a bit.

He slowly got up. Even with the careful movements, black spots clouded his vision. He waited until they cleared before he tried walking towards the door. He kept a steadying hand on the bed and eventually the wall throughout his whole walk.

He opened the door carefully, noting that he was in a long hallway without any windows. He settled on heading right after a few minutes of deliberating.

He stayed close to the wall as he slowly walked. The wall beneath his fingers was a rough brick, punctuated by the occasional wooden beam.

He kept his eyes on the ground, training his eyes on the ground on his feet. He still felt a bit off, his balance was tilted and he really didn’t want to trip.

“Tommy?” he heard a voice from behind.

He jumped, losing his balance and toppling to the ground.

“Tommy,” the voice called again, this time sounding frantic.

He heard footsteps speed towards him and the clanking of ceramics.

Wilbur’s worried face came into view, his wide brown eyes filled with concern. His lips were moving, but Tommy couldn’t hear anything over the loud ringing that had started in his ears.

Eventually, it calmed down and Tommy was able to catch a few words.

“-omm, are you okay? What are you doing out here?” Wilbur asked, his voice flooding his ears.

Tommy blinked, looking up at him.

“I just woke up,” he explained.

“You should be resting right now,” Wilbur scolded lightly.

“Sorry,” Tommy said, looking down.

“Hey, no, none of that. Let’s just get you back to bed, yeah?” Wilbur said softly.

Tommy nodded and let Wilbur help him up. The older boy slowly got Tommy back to his room, his arm wrapped tightly around his shoulders.

When they got back in the room, Wilbur took extra care to make sure Tommy was securely tucked into his bed.

Wilbur left the room coming back a few seconds later carrying a tray with a bowl on it. Tommy vaguely realized that that was the ceramic sound that he had heard earlier.

Wilbur helped Tommy sit up. It turned out the tray had small legs on it, so he popped the legs out and put it over Tommy’s lap.

It was a bowl of a stew that looked sickeningly familiar to the stew that they had fed them in the cave.

He wrinkled his nose at the memory, at the way that Tubbo had needed to feed him, at the way that it was one of the only things they had eaten. 

His breath quickened as the walls moved inwards, their bright cream hue dimming into a cold, unforgiving grey. The bed turned to stone beneath him. He knew where he was though, he knew this because Tubbo was always around at feeding time, he wasn’t there because Tubbo wasn’t there. He repeated the mantra, trying to hide his shaking hands as he reigned in his panic. 

Speaking of Tubbo…

“Where’s Tubbo?” he asked, slowly picking up the spoon, cringing at the way his hand trembled.

“He might be sleeping. Did you want me to get him?” Wilbur asked.

“I don’t want to wake him up if he’s sleeping. He needs it,” Tommy said, thinking about the long nights they had experienced in the cell.

“I should actually get him regardless. I’m pretty sure he threatened murder if no one got him when you woke up,” Wilbur said with a small laugh.

Tommy nodded. That sounded like something that Tubbo would say.

“You eat that while I get him, okay?” Wilbur said, walking out the door.

Tommy nodded again, fully intending on not eating the stew. He would lie and say he had a few bites and tell Wilbur that he was feeling a tad nauseous. Not enough to raise concerns but enough that he wouldn’t be forced to eat anything.

He sat there, lost in thought about the past few months when the door burst open.

“Tommy!” Tubbo exclaimed, racing up to the bed.

He took the tray and moved it to the chair before he crawled into the bed next to Tommy.

Tommy’s arms instinctually went to Tubbo’s middle before he buried his face in his friend’s soft brown hair.

Tommy happily noted that his friend had been able to bathe since he had seen him last. His hair no longer had the greasy sheen that it had taken on in captivity, rather it was now a silky texture and smelled faintly of oranges.

“Tubbo, be careful- Oh. I guess I’m a bit late,” Wilbur said, running through the door.

“You expected me not to run here?” Tubbo asked and although Tommy couldn’t see his face, he could practically feel him raise an eyebrow.

“I guess I should’ve thought about that one,” Wilbur admitted.

“He didn’t wake you, did he?” Tommy asked.

“Eh, it wasn’t a very good sleep anyhow,” Tubbo said, shrugging.

“You need sleep. You barely got any of it,” Tommy said sternly, or at least he hoped it came off as stern.

“Cause you slept so much better. Didn’t you, big man?” Tubbo said sarcastically.

“I’ve been doing nothing but sleeping since I got here. Wherever here is,” Tommy defended.

“I wouldn’t exactly call a comatose state sleeping,” Tubbo said.

“Is that what happened?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah,” Tubbo said, snuggling deeper into Tommy’s chest.

“Oh.”

“Don’t do a stupid thing like that again,” Tubbo said.

“It was to keep you safe,” Tommy said. It was true. He didn’t care what happened to him, he would do it again in a heartbeat

“Promise me,” Tubbo said, turning around to face him, “promise me you won’t do anything like that again,” he pleaded.

Tommy couldn’t help but marvel at how much better his friend, his  _ bonded,  _ looked. His face had filled out a bit more, the bags under his eyes had shrunken a bit. But most importantly, his eyes had retained that childish gleam. When he had first arrived it had been there, a constant bright spot in Tommy’s days. But as the weeks had gone by it had been dulled down until it was nothing more than a sad reflection of Tommy’s own eyes.

“Where are we?” Tommy asked instead.

Tommy watched Tubbo deflate. But he felt his presence in his mind envelop him. A gentle hum of love and reassurance.

He smiled down at his friend, tightening his hold ever so slightly.

“We’re at a safe haven,” Wilbur told him.

“Are we gonna be able to go home soon?” Tommy asked, thinking of the cabin.

“Have you eaten much?” Wilbur deflected, picking up the tray instead.

“A little. I’m not that hungry though,” Tommy lied. In truth, he was starving.

Tubbo frowned at that.

“Don’t make me feed you again,” he threatened. “I know you’re hungry. Just a few bites. Please? For me?”

“I said I had a few bites already, didn’t I?” Tommy said.

“I know you’re lying,” Tubbo said pointedly.

Tommy conceded and let Wilbur put the bowl in his lap. His hands trembled as he held the spoon.

Tubbo gently pulled it from his grasp and held it to his mouth. Tommy easily opened it, letting Tubbo put a bit in his mouth. He let out a small happy noise from the back of his throat. It was incredibly flavourful in comparison to the watered-down stew they had been fed. The meat was soft too, unlike the tough, bland rubber they had eaten previously.

“When can we go back to the cabin?” Tommy asked again once he had finished.

Wilbur frowned at that, his posture slumping forward sadly.

“We left the day you were taken. Phil didn’t want to take any chances,” he explained.

Lead filled his veins. He had done that. He had caused it. He was the reason they had to leave their home.

“Hey, no, none of that. I can hear your thoughts, you know,” Tubbo said, looking up at him.

“Wait, really>” Tommy asked, wondering if he had left the bond open.

“Well, no, not right now, but I know you well enough to know what you’re thinking,” Tubbo said gently.

Tommy nodded, it wasn’t as if Tubbo was wrong. They had gotten especially close in the cell.

“Tommy, repeat after me,” Tubbo said cupping his face and looking him in the eye.

“I, Tommy, am  _ not _ the cause of all of this,” Tubbo said.

Tommy hesitated, arguments warring on the tip of his tongue until he saw the look in his friend’s eyes. The warm brown had varying shades of love and determination as well and fierce loyalty shining through.

He repeated the phrase even though he didn’t necessarily believe it.

_ “I know you don’t believe me yet, but you will,”  _ Tubbo said in his mind.

_ “I won’t, I know the truth,”  _ Tommy said dejectedly.

Tubbo shook his head before he buried his face in Tommy’s chest.

“Tubbo, we should probably go and let Tommy sleep. He needs the rest,” Wilbur said, oblivious to the conversation the two friends had just had.

“Good night, Wilbur,” Tubbo said, pulling the thick blanket over him and Tommy.

Tommy obligingly snuggled into the pillow, his arms never letting go of the brunette.

“Uh, wouldn’t it be better if you had your own bed?” Wilbur asked.

“Nope,” Tubbo responded cheerfully.

Wilbur looked at the boys, noticing their soft content smiles and the way they seemed to melt into each other. The way that they had simply just wrapped the blankets around them as if it were totally natural. And based on the things Tubbo had told them, it was.

He hadn’t told them everything, saying he wanted Tommy to be there for a lot of it, but he had told them a few things. How he had ended up with Tommy in the first place, about his Energy and how sometimes Tommy would be too tired to eat so Tubbo had needed to feed him, tired of what he didn’t say though. He never talked about the specifics of the cave, always clamming up whenever someone brought it up.

They had avoided the topic for a bit, but with Tommy awake, they would want the full story soon.

He shook his head and walked out the door, deciding it was useless to get them to separate. Besides, they had looked so calm with each other.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New characters are being introduced next chapter
> 
> Ok, so I'm sure a few of you have realized that the chapter count says 16/18, don't worry, this isn't the end of the story.
> 
> But I realized that from a story-telling perspective it makes sense to split the story here. As soon as I finish this one I'll be posting book 2 at basically the same rate as Disturbance, maybe a bit slower. 
> 
> I'm going to aim for at least twice a week there, bit no set schedule.
> 
> This was never planned to be a two part story, I just feel like it makes sense to split it up.
> 
> Book 2 will pick up almost exactly where Disturbance will end with maybe a few weeks time slip.
> 
> If you want you can subscribe to the series to know when I start posting book 2.
> 
> Title will be revealed at the end of chapter 18.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This gets wild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to first off give a massive thank you to Ancient_Dee_Cyphers, I made her walk through hell with this chapter. I was writing a bit f this in Sprints while also very tired so I wrote bangers like "aggrenace" "signs" instead of significance and "bt oh we,, vcant win ‘em all."
> 
> Those were actually sentences I wrote. 
> 
> Honestly, she deserves a medal for putting up with my bullcrap.
> 
> **Remember, while chapter 18 is the end of the fic, it is no where near the end of the story. Disturbance 2 is a thing that will exist soon.
> 
> This is also my longest chapter ever siting a a whopping 5.8k.

When the boys woke up the next morning, it was to Phil walking through the door with a tray in hand.

“Good morning, boys,” he said, taking a seat in a chair.

“G’morning,” they slurred.

Tommy went to close his eyes and go back to sleep when he felt Tubbo shift in front of him. He immediately wrapped his arms back around the brunette’s midsection and tugged him back onto his chest.

“Nope, not yet,” Tommy said, snuggling into his warmth.

He heard Phil let out a small coo as Tubbo sighed in fake annoyance. Tommy could tell it was fake because he pushed himself deeper into Tommy’s arms.

Tommy let out a relaxed sigh.

“Tommy, you’re gonna have to let go of Tubbo. You need to eat,” Phil said, standing up and placing the tray on the chair, presumably to untangle the boys.

In response, Tommy buried his face in Tubbo’s hair.

He heard Tubbo’s small giggle, a sound he hadn’t heard properly since they had first met. The weeks that had followed had reduced his laugh to nothing but an empty hollow imitation of what it used to be.

He sighed. They were safe. Finally.

Phil eventually got the boys to let go of each other and handed them each a bowl of oatmeal.

Tommy picked up his spoon, ignoring the way his hands trembled. He didn’t need Tubbo’s help. He was safe. He was out of that cold cave, out pf that tiny cell.

Tubbo noticed though and shifted so their knees were touching.

“ _ Can you hear me,”  _ Tubbo asked through the bond, his voice barely above a whisper.

“ _ I can, but barely,”  _ Tommy responded.

Whenever Tommy’s hands were shaking on a particularly bad day, they found the bond was weaker. Usually, on those days, they would need to be touching to hear each other. Otherwise, they could reach from the cell door and the back wall and even beyond if the guards had been kind that day.

“ _ Makes sense. It was either that or you were ignoring me,”  _ Tubbo said, a small smile forming on his face.

_ “Never.” _

Tubbo smiled and moved around until they were arranged the same way they had arranged themselves in the cave. Tommy propped up against the wall and Tubbo about a foot away, his knee touching Tommy’s leg.

Tommy sighed when he handed the bowl over.

_ “I should be able to feed myself,”  _ he argued as Tubbo gave him the first spoonful. Tubbo simply quirked an unimpressed eyebrow. Tommy quickly conceded not wanting to annoy Tubbo.

_ “You’ve been through a lot. You need time to heal, so let yourself heal. Don’t push yourself to be better right away,”  _ Tubbo soothed.

_ “But you’re fine,”  _ he pointed out with an edge of bitterness to his tone.

_ “I didn’t go through half of what you did. Not only that, but you pulled that stunt twice in a week,”  _ Tubbo said patiently.

“Tommy, Tubbo, are you guys okay? You were looking at each kinda strange there,” Phil said, breaking the flow of the conversation.

Tommys snapped to look at Phil before his eyes went back to Tubbo.

_ “They don’t know?!”  _ he asked, panicking.

_ “I didn’t know if you would want them to know!”  _ Tubbo said.

Tommy looked between the older blond and the brunette before making a decision.

“Sorry, don’t worry about it. It was nothing,” he said, laughing awkwardly.

He didn’t know why he lied, to be perfectly honest. He trusted Phil, he really did. But for some reason, he wanted to keep it to himself for a little longer.

“Okay,” Phil said, drawing out the last syllable.

He shrugged and Tubbo went back to feeding Tommy, gently batting his hands away whenever Tommy tried to grab the spoon from him.

The cycle continued for a while. Tommy would wake up from a nap or a ‘good night’s sleep’ - nevermind that he was plagued with silent, painful nightmares that featured bright lights and his body being torn in half - , someone, usually Tubbo, would come in either to sleep with him (Tubbo exclusive), bring him food (feeding him, but only Tubbo) or just hang out.

They tried to get Tubbo to leave Tommy for a little bit, either to sleep in his own room or just about anything, but they gave up after Phil locked the door one night in an attempt to keep him in his own bed and walked in the following morning to Tubbo fast asleep curled up against Tommy’s chest.

After about a week, Tommy was finally allowed to walk around on his own, but only with proper supervision. He was moved to another room since it turned out the room he was staying in was a part of the medical wing.

The doctor had come in a couple times to ask a few questions about how he was feeling as well as how his Energy felt. She told him that the shaking in his hands was probably a result of using so much of his Raw Energy the way he had and that it should subside in a few weeks.

The haven turned out to be underground, not dissimilar to the cave of the coats. But where that cave was full of cruel rocks bathed in a cold and unforgiving grey, the haven was covered with warm wooden floors and gentle neutral colours that felt like coming home after a snow storm. Not that Tommy had ever really returned home after a snowstorm, but he felt like this was what that would feel like.

But still, even with its homey interior, Tommy felt trapped.

Wilbur, Techno, and Phil helped him walk around (with Tubbo tagging along) whenever he asked, but it didn’t feel like enough.

He looked over at Tubbo’s sleeping form next to him. At first, he was given a small dorm room that housed a single-sized bed, a dresser, and a full-length mirror. But once it had become apparent to everyone that the boys wouldn’t leave each other’s side, they had moved them into a room together with two single beds. But they had eventually been moved to a room meant for couples after they found them squeezing onto one bed a few nights in a row.

“Hey, Tubbo?” Tommy whispered, nudging him.

“Yeah?” the brunette slurred, blinking owlishly at him.

“Is there a way out of here? to the outside?” he asked kicking his legs gently from restlessness.

“Yeah, I was wondering how long you would last,” Tubb said, smiling softly at him.

They got up from the bed slowly and made their way down the hall, making sure not to wake anyone.

Tubbo led them around the hallways easily as if he had done this dozens of times before, of which he probably had.

He eventually brought them to a door, which he opened as he led them outside.

Tommy breathed for what felt like the first time in ages.

The moon was high, its silver glow illuminating through the field, turning the grass a blue-tinted green.

The wind blew through his hair, its icy fingers running through his blonde curls. He closed his eyes, spreading his arms out as if to greet the gale.

He was free.

Kinda.

Tubbo led him up a hill with a large tree that overlooked the field. The boys sat there, just leaning into each other’s company. The moon casting long shadows over the field, the trees swaying gently in the breeze. It was calm, peaceful in a way only the night could be.

“I don’t like it down there either,” Tubbo admitted.

Tommy didn’t respond, he just pressed himself further into his friend’s warmth. They both pushed themselves into the other’s mind, not saying anything, but rather just pushing feelings of love and safety into the bond.

They reluctantly walked back into the haven a while later, their movements slow and unsure.

They made it back to their bed, crawling under the blankets the same way they had in the cave.

——

Slowly over the next week, Tommy felt his Energy return. While he felt stronger and was allowed more independence, he knew it came at a price. He still had the pendant that Phil had given him, but he couldn’t block it all completely without getting horribly sick, the same way he had at the cabin. But he knew he had to.

He was able to keep the pendant closed for a day until Wilbur found out. After that, he was checked constantly. But he needed  _ more _ . He was starting to panic. It was stronger than he remembered.

The doctor that tended to him was a Pathfinder that had gone under intense training specifically for Energy.

He went for a check-in a few days after he had been found with the pendant and felt his stomach twist in knots when she told him with a pleased smile that about a quarter of his Energy had restored itself.

He had tuned out the rest of her words, internally panicking. His Energy was already so powerful as it was! How was it only about a quarter recharged? This couldn’t be happening!

“Sorry, did you say a quarter?” he said, interrupting her from a spiel about resting.

She blinked at him.

“Yeah, you’re incredibly powerful. I can’t quite get a good read on you, but I estimate about a quarter is what you have,” she said and then picked up where she had left off when he had interrupted her.

Tommy nodded and went back to panicking as she continued whatever she was on about

—

That night, he stayed up until he was sure that Tubbo had fallen asleep.

Once he had gently poked him in the ribs a few times without waking him up, he crawled out of bed slowly and quietly left the room.

He headed towards the general direction of the armoury. He had a feeling he would find what he was looking for in there.

After a few wrong turns, he finally arrived.

He pushed open the heavy door and flicked on the light.

Sets of armour stood proudly in the main room, lining the walls, punctuated by swords, bows, arrows, and every other kind of weapon imaginable. He headed towards one of the many doors along the walls.

He entered a storeroom and found guards and gauntlets of all sizes stored in clearly labelled bins.

He moved on to the next room which seemed to be a brewing room, the next one over seemed to be for making tipped arrows.

On and on he continued until he found what he was looking for.

Dull iron gleamed in the low light from the lone lightbulb in the room. He found a pair of heavy-duty shackles and some flame-resistant chains. There was so much iron, and although he had the pendant almost completely closed, he could still feel the way so much of it had been infused with Energy.

Finally, after encountering wicked restraints of all kinds, he found a pair of manacles that made his Energy dip.

He pulled them on quickly, being sure that they weren’t too tight. He felt the familiar weight settle in his chest, the blissful silence of his Energy being blocked once more.

He remembered the early days of wearing a pair like these in the caves. They had made him feel heavy and useless, full of stone-cold dread that seemed to cling onto his every breath.

They still made him feel like that, but now he knew that they kept everyone safe from him.

He shuddered at the memory of what he had done in the cave and the forest. At the way he had felt so powerful and so helpless at the same time. The way his Energy seemed to take control of him.

He remembered the thrill of hurting people, the sick satisfaction at avenging Tubbo.

He tightened them and then walked out the door.

He crawled back into bed, his arms looping around Tubbo again. He slept peacefully, knowing he was trapped in a cage of his own making.

“Tommy,” Tubbo whispered gently, shaking him awake a few hours later.

He opened his eyes slowly to the concerned brown eyes of his friend.

“Hmm?” he asked.

“Where did you get those?” Tubbo asked, pointing towards the manacles on his wrist.

Crap. Tommy had forgotten about them last night when he had returned, he had just gone back to sleep.

“I found them,” he said, hoping that Tubbo wouldn’t ask any more questions.

Unfortunately for him, Tubbo’s eyes widened, tears flooding his owlish stare.

“What?! Why would you do that? Why would you  _ wear _ them?!” he whispered, horrified.

“I feel more in control with them on,” he explained, shame flooding through his system. 

How pathetic was it that he was too weak to keep himself in check?

Tubbo locked his arms around Tommy.

“I know it’s scary, but I’ll be here. I’ll help you in any way I can,” he soothed, his promises sending waves of warmth through his system.

They sat there for a while, neither talking about the tears in their eyes.

“Here, let me take them,” Tubbo said, gently holding his hands out after they had let go of each other.

Tommy reluctantly pulled the key out from his pocket and unlocked them. He handed the bands of heavy iron to his friend. Heavy in both physical weight, and the weight of the significance they carried.

“Wait, are these the ones you had in the cave?” Tubbo asked, looking at them.

Tommy scrunched his brow before leaning over to look at them.

Sure enough, there were some very familiar nicks and scratches on them. Right above the lock, the left one had a large dent from where he had tried to break the locking mechanism on his first day. It had only resulted in a bruised wrist. How naive he had been.

“They are,” Tommy said, stroking his fingers along the rim.

Tubbo yanked them away seeing how Tommy was looking at them far too longingly for his taste.

He pulled open the closet that neither of the used, they barely had any clothes so shoving both of their clothes in one dresser to make it look fuller and made them feel slightly better about the situation they were in. Tubbo threw them onto the top shelf with a slight grunt.

“Out of sight, out of mind!” he said, clapping his hands from the imaginary dust.

Tommy made a hum of agreeance, knowing full well that he would be finding a way to hide them and put them back on as soon as he could.

They walked to breakfast the next morning. Their breakfast was usually just a bowl of porridge, however after one too many times of both boys getting sick from the porridge, they had gotten cereal. The porridge reminded them too much of the cves for either being able to be able to stomach.

When they arrived in the mess hall, Phil, Wilbur and Techno were already there.

The boys took their usual spot at the end of the long table.

_ “Do you want me to feed you still?”  _ Tubbo asked him through the bond.

_ “I want to try eating on my own today,”  _ Tommy said.

Tubbo nodded and handed him his spoon.

While it was shaky, it had calmed down enough that Tommy didn’t spill anything.

And Tubbo, bless his soul, made sure to ramble while they ate, that way it looked like they were eating at the same speed.

“We need to begin teaching Tommy how to use his Energy,” Tubbo said about halfway through his meal.

Tommy’s hand paused halfway to his mouth. It probably would have been more dramatic if his hand wasn’t shaking, but oh well, he can’t win them all.

“It’s fine, Tubbo,” Tommy said with a nervous laugh.

“No, mate. That’s actually a good idea and we should’ve started way sooner. You’re a bit weaker right now so it might be safer to di it now,” Phil said thoughtfully.

Tommy’s eyes widened.

“No, no, no! That’s really not necessary,” Tommy said quickly, a bit too quickly.

His table mates signed in frustration. They understood that he had been through a lot, but the only way he would get over his fear was to learn how control. If only Tommy would get that through his thick skull.

“What’s this about someone needing to learn how to use their Energy?” said a voice from behind him.

Tommy turned around and found a tall man in a lime green hoodie and, oddly enough, a white porcelain mask with a small smiley face drawn on it, covering the top half of his face. To his left was a man in a cyan t-shirt with a pair of sunglasses with incredibly thick frames and to his right a man in a white bandana and a t-shirt with a small flame design.

“Dream,” Techno said, nodding in greeting.

“Techno,” the man said in a similar fashion.

“What are we? Chopped liver?” the bandana man said indignantly.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Techno said, going back to his cereal.

“Anyways,” Dream said, cutting off whatever the sunglasses guy was about to say, “I heard someone needs to learn how to use their Energy.”

“Really, do you think you can help us?” Tubbo asked, his eyes locking onto the mask, his curiosity piqued.

“I most certainly can,” the masked man said, pretending to tip a fedora.

“Tubbo!” Tommy hissed, elbowing the older boy’s ribs.

“What?!” Tubbo said sternly. “You need help, Tommy!” 

“We don’t even know this guy!” Tommy argued.

“He’s actually pretty good,” Wilbur cut in. “He’s one of the most skilled people in terms of Energy use.” 

Tommy looked the tall man up and down, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

“I promise, I’m the best of the best! You need a teacher? I got you,” the man said and while he didn’t puff up his chest, Tommy got the vibe that he did.

“I’m good,” he said, going back to his cereal.

“Tommy,” Tubbo pleaded.

“No,” Tommy said, focusing on keeping his hand still as he could as he brought the cereal to his mouth.

“For me? Please?” Tubbo begged.

Tommy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was no way he could say no to that voice. Damn Tubbo for pushing his only weakness against him.

“Fine,” Tommy said, giving in begrudgingly.

“Yes!” Tubbo exclaimed, doing a little dance in his chair.

Tommy rolled his eyes, a fond smile playing on his lips at his friend’s antics.

“Once you finish eating, just come over to our table,” Dream said, motioning to a small table in the corner.

Tommy nodded and went back to his cereal.

Far too quickly, they had finished their food.

They went over to the table and found the three of them in a game of cards.

“Hey,” Tommy said, sliding into a seat while Tubbo plopped himself in the one next to him.

“So, what’s your Energy?” Dream asked, putting his cards facedown on the table.

Ah, right. They would have to know. Would they react the same way Wilbut had? Condemning him to a box he had never belonged in? Or would he react like Phil? Just some surprise from its apparent rarity.

“Raw Energy,” Tubbo said for him, filling Tommy’s mind with a pleasant warmth.

_ “Thanks,”  _ Tommy said in his mind.

_ “Anytime, big man,”  _ Tubbo responded.

“Woah, slow down there, little man! Raw Energy  _ and  _ a bond?!” Dream exclaimed in a playful tone.

But it had the opposite effect on him.

Tommy sat up straight as if someone had shoved a steel bar in place of his spine.

“What do you mean?” he demanded.

“I mean, it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?” Dream said nonchalantly.

“What do you mean it's pretty obvious’?” Tommy demanded.

“Relax,” Dream said soothingly. “I’m bonded with these two idiots. I recognize the signs. Those soft looks, the way you’re both so protective of each other, the way he convinced you so easily.” 

“That’s Sapnap and George by the way,” he said pointing to the bandana boy and goggles respectively.

Tommy nodded, placated for now.

“So how long have you had your Energy,” Dream asked.

“I think I probably got it when I turned twelve but I didn’t realize until I met those three,” Tommy said, jabbing his thumb in their general direction.

“And how long ago was that,” Dream asked.

“Uhhh, how long were we in the cave for,” he asked, turning to Tubbo.

Tubbo made a face at that.

“No idea, it was a while though,” Tubbo said.

They turned back to t face the trio and found them looking at them with pained faces.

“Right, so about three months then,” Dream said.

“Yeah, so maybe an extra two weeks or so, so I’ve known about my Energy for about three and a half months,” Tommy said.

“Right, can you use it at all,” Dream asked.

“In small doses,” Tommy said with a small nod.

“Right well you’ve probably got a lot of Energy, so I say we go outside,” Dream said.

Everyone nodded in agreement and they headed out.

Once outside Dream tried to get Tommy to remove the pendant but eventually gave up. Tommy was insistent and dodged Dream’s attempts to wrangle it off. When Tommy climbed up a tree and started jumping around from branch to branch was when he really gave up.

His years on the street hadn’t gone to waste. He had learned valuable skills like dodging afterall. 

“Open it up enough that you can feel all our Energy and take a guess who’s who,” Dream instructed him.

Tommy nodded and reluctantly opened the vault.

He felt the way his Energy begged to be released so he let it go. He felt the way it found their Energy and tightened around them, claiming it as a tool for his Energy to use.

He felt something fiery ignite inside of him, he traced the feeling back to the black-haired man.

“He’s got fire,” Tommy said nodding towards Sapnap. In response he made a small flame appear above his palm and sent him a small smile.

He closed his eyes feeling someone’s Energy trying to resist his Raw Energy. He latched onto it, tightening his grip, even as it tried to slither out of his grasp.

Finally, he pulled it towards him. His Energy felt like a caged animal, dangerous and fiesty. But it also felt like gentle whispers, it came with the sweet promises of freedom and open fields.

He traced the wild spirit back to its handler.

“Wind,” he added, looking the masked man in the eyes.

Dream nodded before motioning for him to continue.

He sent his Energy on the hunt again, the time it was attracted to an Energy like a moth to a flame. He reached into it, grabbing it slightly. He felt his soul refract the Energy it gathered, the light coming from the Energy guiding him along.

“Light,” he breathed.

George grinned and spread his arm out, letting his Energy lose. The air behind him took on an icy blue hue, casting harsh shadows across his face and body.

He faintly felt Dream’s Energy curl around the older brunette, the wind disturbing the area around George making it look like light-user was the epicenter of power.

“Okay,” Dream began, “unlock the pendant a bit, then I want you to pick someone’s Energy and use it. Uh, actually, maybe not Sapnap’s, but use it, however you want. Just get used to the feeling of another’s Energy.” 

Tommy nodded and reluctantly closed his eyes. He craved the comfort the manacles brought him, the feeling of being at the mercy of the elements rather than the elements being at his mercy. 

He reached for the free spirit, for the wind that changed at the whim of the moon, the tides, for the element that could never be contained, for the element which could just as easily bring on a merciless storm as it could bring relief on a hot summer’s day. 

He caught it quicker this time. He felt the way it filled him up, the way it pushed and pulled against him. At Dream’s instruction, he kept it wound up in a small part of him. He imagined it trapped in his ribcage, feeling the way it knocked against his bones, the way it blew kisses against his heart. 

He started by waving his hands and carrying the breeze in his palms. It didn't feel so bad. It was almost euphoric, the way the Energy moved at his command, the way he was in complete and utter control.

He looked ahead and saw a small flower in the distance. He sent over a small gust, finding it hard to keep the wind in one place. 

He kept playing around with the wind, whenever it got too enthusiastic, he made sure to reign back the lock on the vault. 

Eventually, he felt more comfortable and at Dream’s instruction, he moved onto George’s Energy. It felt a lot different than Dream’s, where his was wild and free, George’s was steady, dim as a default but it held the steady promise of power, like the sun during an eclipse.

He let it out gently, admiring the way the light spilled from his fingers. He watched as it cast ethereal shadows over the grass coming from its cool blue glow. The heat that came from the light was strange, the heat came from inside of him, he felt the way it came from the depths of his soul, lighting the way, a guide that brought him to a place of peace and comfort.

George explained to him how to control the beams and the brightness of the light.

After a bit of switching between George and Dream’s Energy he noticed how the vault door made it harder for him to focus, but he needed it. He  _ needed  _ it. 

Dream evidently noticed his struggle, noticed the way his posture went from easy and carefree to tense and guarded, noticed the way he curled in on himself. He stopped Tommy with a gentle hand. Tommy frowned as the light wavered, he needed to get a grip on himself.

“You should take that off, it’ll make things easier,” he told him, gesturing towards the pendant. 

Tommy looked up at him, his expression flicking between fear, apprehension, and hope. 

“I used to be afraid of myself, the way you are, I would keep my Energy wrapped up tight and never let it go. But trust me when I say you’ll feel so much better if you just let it go,” Dream told him gently.

Tommy looked up at him ans made a desicion. He had been fine so far today, and he would still be weak.  He knew it was best to rip off the bandaid quickly . So, he started slowly opening the door, just a bit, to ease himself into it. 

He reached for Energy and found Tubbo’s first. He hadn’t touched his Energy today, out of fear that he would hurt him. He was about to pull back when he felt a hand clasp his wrist. 

He looked and saw Tubbo’s face looking up at him. 

“Go for it,” he told him.

He reached into Tubbo’s Energy, a small sigh escaping his lips. Reaching for Tubbo’s Energy felt like home. It was all warmth. His Energy didn’t resist the way Dream’s did, nor did it fight him like Sapnap’s. Tubbo’s Energy simply melded into his, letting him use it without too many problems. 

From there he stuck with Tubbo’s Energy as much as he could while also switching between the other three. 

As he continued he opened the vault more and more. 

It was getting harder to open it in small increments the more he opened it, his Energy vying for a chance at freedom. 

Tommy had been at it for a few hours when it happened. 

He latched onto Tubbo’s, melting into its familiarity, when he opened the vault a little more, except it wasn’t just a bit. He had been so distracted by the feeling of his Energy that he hadn’t put enough focus on the opening vault. 

The vault opened a bit slowly at first, and then a demanding rush that was too hard to control. He tired to reign it in but it was near impossible,he felt the way it didn’t stop opening, the way all his Energy flowed out and the more it came out the harder it was getting to close it. His Energy demanded more and more, he felt the way Tubbo’s Energy bent to his will and spread itself out on the ground around him. 

His vision turned white as his Energy tried to take as much it could from the area around him. He saw trees with significantly less leaves than there had been and large patches of scorched earth around them.

He tried reeling it in, but only succeeded in calling more Energy to himself. He was on the ground when his vision finally cleared. He was lying on his back, panting heavily. 

Dream was talking to him, his lips moving, but the sounds weren’t reaching Tommy’s ears. His ears popped as sound returned to them suddenly,

George was looking over him, his fingers pressing against Tommy’s wrist. 

“Where's Tubbo,” he asked frantically once he noticed that Tubbo was nowhere to be seen. 

Dream and George looked at him, uncomfortable. They traded unsure glances, almost as if they were having a silent conversation, which considering they were bonded, wouldn't be much a surprise

“He.... you were directly connected to him when you lost control,” Dream explained carefully. 

Tommy’s eyes widened in horror. He stood up ignoring the black spots in his vision and the way his legs shook. He caught sight of the older boy lying still as a headstone on the ground with Sapnap hovering over him. He reached out for his mind the way he had so many time before in the cave, but was greeted with stony silence 

“Tubbo,” Tommy cried, stumbling. When his knees gave out, he resorted to crawling towards him. 

“Tubbo,” he said, tracing a finger over his cheeks as tears fell from his eyes. 

“I’m so sorry... I- You deserve so much better than me. I’m sorry it was me they shoved you with, I’m sorry it was me who was bonded with you,” he whispered.

Tubbo said nothing, his eyes closed. He looked peaceful like this, as if he were just sleeping. But that image was ruined by the occasional twitch of his limbs. 

“Goodbye,” Tommy said softly before standing up. 

He was a menace, a monster. He needed to protect everyone around him. Just as he always needed to, leaving families behind in order to protect them. It wasn't his first time, he had hoped that he wouldn't need to leave them, but he should have known. 

Bad people didn't get good things after all.

“What do you mean by goodbye?” Dream asked, confused. 

“Did you not just see what I did to him?!” Tommy snapped.

“I mean, yeah, but you didn’t mean it,” Dream said.

“Doesn't matter I did it! I’m too dangerous,” Tommy said emphatically. 

“Tommy-” Dream started. 

“Enough. I’ve made my decision,” Tommy said sharply.

“Tommy-” Dream tried again. 

“I said, enough!” Tommy said stepping forward and punching down behind him, watching as a powerful gust of wind erupted from his hands nearly knocking Dream over. 

His eyes widened. 

“I’m so sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to, I- I-, I can't control it,” he said, looking at his hands fearfully. 

“Tommy,” Subpoena said, stepping forward. 

“No, no, no! Don’t come any closer! I don’t want to hurt you,” Tommy said frantically, stepping back. 

He nearly tripped on his walk back and instead turned around and ran. On the way back, he closed the vault completely. 

He ran back to his and Tubbo’s shared room, well, just Tubbo’s now, he supposed, and grabbed the manacles from the closet. He snapped them around his wrists, taking sick satisfaction in the way they weakened him. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor with the grace of a newborn deer. 

Even with that, he smiled knowing that this was what was right, for everyone involved, it had to be done. 

He never realized how suffocating the silence was. He hated it. But like the manacles, he would learn how to live with it, maybe even find comfort in it. 

He grabbed a bag from the closet floor and shoved his meager belongings in there. 

He ran from the room, keeping his ears and eyes out for someone who might try and stop him.

As he approached the tunnel that led outside, he heard Dream, George, and Sapnap coming down. He darted into a nearby empty room and waited, barely daring to breathe.

“Dream, are you sure we shouldn’t go find him?” he heard Sapnap ask from beyond the door. 

“He needs a bit of space right now. I’m sure he’ll turn up soon. Besides, he would definitely freak if he found out we waited too long before we getting Tubbo to the medical wing,” Dream said, although he didn’t sound very happy about it. 

Tubbo, who was still lying unconscious on the ground  _ because of Tommy.  _

“I guess so,” Sapnap said, sighing. 

“Did either of you need a trade-off,” George offered. The Brit was just standing around from what Tommy could tell, he supposed he was trying t be useful.

“Yeah, please. The kids are powerful. Putting out those fires took forever,” Sapnap said with a small groan.

Their voices faded as they headed down the hall away from Tommy. 

Guilt settled in his chest. He had hurt Tubbo enough that he was being carried to the medical wing. He needed to leave them all behind. He had to. 

* * *

He couldn’t. He had tried running, but ended up not being able to leave them behind. 

So instead he had taken shelter in a tree. Up here, alone, yet so close to so much love. Love he wasn't allowed to have, love he was too dangerous to be given. 

None of them understood. He couldn’t control it. He would never be tamed, so instead he had to be contained. 

In the nights, he ended up sneaking into the haven to watch over Tubbo as he slept. The bond was far too weak with the manacles on and the vault door sealed shut, but he refused to run the risk. He wouldn’t hurt Tubbo, or anyone, ever again. 

As the week progressed, they sent search parties to try and find him, but he was skilled in the art of hiding himself away. So many times, they stopped in front of the tree he slept in but they never knew that he was up there.

About a week and a half later, after Tubbo had been released from medical, Tommy felt a ripple of Energy echo across the otherwise silent landscape. 

He checked the stars and found that it had come from the south. 

His Energy surged, he felt the way the previously silenced waves of power came back with a vengeance, a meteor dropped in a calm sea, a tsunami in the making. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy learns some very interesting information and makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well bois, we did it, the last chapter. 
> 
> I'm tearing up a bit writing this author's note. It's been a hell of a ride, and I hope you join me for the next one.
> 
> The first chapter of [Redacted] should be up later this week
> 
> Don't worry, the actual title will be in the end notes, so either read the chapter through and wait till the end or jump to the end now and then come back up lol. 
> 
> Once again, a massive thanks to Ancient_Dee_Cyphers for beta'ing nearly this whole fic, honestly. Send her some love. 
> 
> This chapter is 4k words, I hope you enjoy it.

Tommy shivered in the tree where he was sleeping. He wanted to make a fire but it was too risky. If someone saw the smoke, they would probably assume that he was nearby, and he couldn't have that. He needed to protect them. He needed to keep himself away. 

He huddled further into himself, desperate for warmth. The wind nipped at his exposed face and every breath he took felt like there were icicles rattling around in his lungs. But he had to endure it. 

Along with fires and blankets, he found himself wishing for the warmth of another person. But he couldn’t have that. Never again. He refused to be the reason someone got hurt. The image of Tubbo lying unconscious in the field was enough to strengthen his resolve every time he felt himself wanting to give in. His relaxed face almost looking peaceful if it weren't for the frighteningly pale shade his skin had gone. 

Tommy screwed his eyes shut at the image, guilt rolling deep in his gut. He shook his head trying to rid himself of the feeling.

He instead looked up towards the sky, it was pretty tonight.

The moon was bright, its gentle silver light making Tommy feel a bit less alone.

He knew that if he went back, they would welcome him with open arms, but that was the problem, wasn’t it? He couldn’t just be let back. He needed to be detained.

Looking back, he realized that his escape plan in the cave never actually involved him actually escaping. Rather it was always about Tubbo. The contingency plans he had developed in the late nights were always impossible feats, or rather, the kind of things you could only do once.

But maybe this was for the best, he ended up hurting people anyways. He felt hot tears gather in the corner of his eyes. He didn’t hesitate and let them flow freely, knowing they would be the only source of warmth for the foreseeable future. They provided some temporary comfort even as they quickly cooled on his skin.

He wished he had more on him, a few extra hoodies or blankets, more food, anything really, but he had only grabbed the bare necessities. A hoodie and a spare shirt, along with a small hunting knife that he and Tubbo had found when they had first been assigned the room.

He remembered that day fondly. Phil had woken them up bright in the morning and told them that if they were just gonna share a bed that they would move them into a bigger room. They were given ten minutes to pack up all their things, which had taken far less and brought into the new one. 

The first thing they had done was snuggle under the covers, still tired from a restless sleep after they had both awoken from a nightmare. 

Once they had felt well rested they had gone through the dresser trying to make the look as full as possible when Tubbo had found the knife. 

It was beautiful, with an ornately carved handle with a wicked blade that curved slightly outwards.

He looked at his reflection in its silver blade, the light of the moon making the shadows under his eyes more pronounced and his skin even paler than it already was.

That was all he had. There was no time to stop in the kitchens.

Since then, his food intake has dramatically decreased. He didn’t have any easy way to get food. His hands shook constantly now, only a slight tremble in comparison to what it had been, but he had finally stopped it. 

Headaches had become a new constant in his life too. 

Curse his stomach.

He stared up at the stars, wondering what kinds of stories they told, wondered how much they had seen and how much they would continue to see.

The wind howled around and, really, all he could think about was the way Dream’s Energy had felt inside of him. A wild, untameable spirit, free from every rule. Bound to the earth by nothing but its own accord.

He wished he could do the same, wished he could get that feeling again.

But never again. Never again would he give himself the opportunity to hurt anyone else. They didn’t deserve that.

* * *

It took about a week after the night in the tree for Tommy to give up.

The moon was high again, although its fullness had been slightly reduced.

He crept through the open door. He was here for food. As much as he didn’t think he should be around people, something inside of him demanded to live and who was he to refuse.

He had one goal in mind: the kitchens. He would grab anything he could. Fats and sugars were probably best, but he wouldn’t be picky.

Along the way, he felt a gentle pull, barely there, but there nonetheless.

He decided to follow it. He hadn’t been led astray by the pull yet.

When he realized where it was taking him, it was too late to turn back. He found himself back in the hallway of the room he and Tubbo had been assigned.

He paced outside the door, debating whether or not he should check on him before eventually deciding that, yes, he would.

He carefully opened the door and released tension he hadn’t even realized he had been holding when he saw Tubbo sleeping peacefully. His face was relaxed and open, looking far younger than he had ever seen him.

His brown hair was hanging in front of his eyes being gently pushed up with every soft breath he released.

Tommy slowly approached him and took a tentative seat on the edge of his bed. He wanted so badly to crawl into the bed next to him and hold him against his chest the way he had for so many nights. But he couldn’t, he refused, lest he lost control. 

He felt the way that his Energy reached for Tubbo’s, but he held firm, knowing that if he didnt he wasn't sure he would be able to let go again. 

He wanted so desperately too though, Tubbo’s Energy felt like home. Like the last piece of the puzzle being slotted into place after hours of work. His Energy felt like an extension of Tommy’s own, warm and full of life.

The tears came back and he knew that if he stayed any longer, he risked not being able to leave. Thus, without any further adieu, he gently jumped up from the bed and sped out of the room.

He made his way to the kitchen, trying to forget the image of his bonded looking so peaceful in his sleep. Instead, he focused on the fact that he hadn’t had a full meal in over a week and the food he did have wasn’t great and had barely filled him.

He found the kitchens easily and pulled out a loaf of bread, a few apples, and a jar of peanut butter.

He wouldn’t be able to hold any more, so after making sure it looked like he hadn’t been there, he headed back for the door.

He arrived at the surface and took a deep breath of the cool night air, loving the way the cold seemed to traverse through his body, making him feel revitalized.

“I hope you got enough food,” came a voice behind him.

Tommy jumped and the apples tumbled from his arms as he instinctually tightened his grip around the peanut butter.

“Is that all you got?” the voice said, sounding exasperated.

Tommy turned around and found himself face to face with a familiar figure.

“Techno,” he breathed, suddenly afraid for his cover, afraid for the residents of the haven.

“The one and only,” Techno said with a small smile tugging at his lips.

“So, are you gonna turn me in right away or are you gonna give me a monologue that’s just a tad over the top and give me time to run?” Tommy asked nervously, already shuffling away.

“Neither. Here’s what’s actually gonna happen. I was in a similar boat to you a few years back. I mean I was suddenly a lot stronger than I used to be and anger made it worse. I hurt Wilbur so many times and broke more plates than I can count. I thought that I needed to be kept away, and ended up hiding in a little cave by the cabin for a bit. 

“Phil and Wilbur tried to get me to come home, but I knew that I shouldn’t. Eventually, it got too lonely. Too hard,” Techno paused, dipping his head and taking a deep breath. 

When he met Tommy’s eyes again, Tommy noticed how his eyes had a far-away look. Tommy could tell that, while Techno was here in front of him, he was really deep in his memories.

“I came back to them one day, tired, cold, and hungry. So, so hungry. They, of course, welcomed me with open arms. Well, Wilbur’s opened around me and didn’t open again,” he said chuckling. 

“The point is, though they didn’t care what I could do, they knew that I led them and that they loved me and that as all they needed to know. The rest could come later. And, it did. They were patient. They didn’t care that I kept breaking things or that I hurt them a few times. ‘Cause they knew I didn’t mean it. They would do the same for you, especially Tubbo. He knows that you don’t mean it,” he finished looking Tommy in his eyes.

Tommy took a step back, holding the jar closer to him. He needed to leave. The sweet tale Techno told him already ringing through his skull, its sweet melody sinking into his bones. He couldn’t stay. Didn’t Techno understand that they were different? That Tommy could take out hoards of people in the blink of an eye? Did he not see the power that flooded through his veins? 

Did he not see how much of a _monster_ he was?

Tears flooded his eyes as he shook his head. He couldn’t let the hope get through to him. If he did, someone would end up dead by his hand. If they hadn’t already, Tommy realized with a sickening jolt.

He remembered the day in the cave, the day in the forest. He had killed someone, hadn’t he? Multiple someone’s. He has to have killed someone. How didn’t he think of that before? Here he was, lying around in bed beginning his recovery, while someone lied beneath the ground, pushing up the daisies.

He tripped over his feet in his attempt to slowly get away and scrambled to his feet.

“Get away from me! I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to hurt anyone. Please,” he whispered the last part, his voice giving away to a pitiful whimper. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. He closed his eyes in an attempt to fight off the wave of sorrow that crashed though him.

“Tommy, I won’t force you to come back. I know how useless that would be, but just know that when you’re ready, that we’ll be waiting. Okay?” Techno’s says.

Tommy didn’t even give him an indication that he had heard him before he bolted.

He ran, following the path of ivy that had long since become his friend until he made it back to his tree.

He climbed up it carefully, going much slower than he would have liked, thanks to the peanut butter he held. He cursed Techno and the fact that he had dropped his bag.

When he made it up, he eagerly opened it, finding it to be half-empty.

This seemed to be the breaking point for him. He couldn’t help it when the sobs left his body. He tried to reign them in, knowing he didn’t deserve to feel this way. Not when he had killed someone. Not when he had caused someone pain and suffering. Not when he had hurt Tubbo or taken Dream’s wind as his own or scorched the ground without Sapnap’s permission. Not when he had caused Phil, Techno, and Wilbur to leave their home. He shouldn’t be crying over it. Not when he was the reason it had happened at all.

And yet, he cried anyways. He couldn’t tell you how long he cried. He didn’t know. At some point, he fell asleep. When he awoke, the sun was hitting his face. Its usual warm kiss had become a stark reminder of guilt. The sun saw through his soul and saw the crimes he had committed.

He quickly got down from his tree, not wanting to wallow in self-pity. He was about to head in the direction of the nearby river, when he stumbled.

He was ready to pick up another fallen stick and chuck it into the forest when he saw that it wasn’t a branch at all, but rather a large burlap sack. He cautiously opened it and found a thermos of something warm, a few apples, and a bottle of water. Just as he was about to crack open the lid of the thermos, a note fluttered from the handle of it.

_Here’s some food to get you by. Come home soon, we all miss you_

_XO Phil._

Tommy scoffed at the little XO before he realized that he had been found. They knew where he lived. ‘Lived’ was maybe a strong word. Still, they knew where he slept. He should move before they tried anything. He was at the base of the tree, ready to climb up the first branch, when he realized that Phil could probably find him with his Pathfinding Energy. He remembered the thin gold threads that he had seen when Phil had tried to teach him.

So, it was too late. They already knew where he was. He wondered if he could block it somehow. He didn’t know how any of it worked and he wasn’t about to release his Energy to try. So, he supposed he would have to deal with that.

He sighed and climbed up quickly to stash the bag with the food high up. When he got to the top, he noticed that he was slightly out of breath. That probably wasn’t a good sign. But, he didn’t have much of a chance for food out here.

He shrugged it off and went to the river.

He was looking for some plants he knew he could eat. The ones in the forest were too much of a gamble because they all resembled each other. But river plants tended to look much more different.

So far, he had only been able to find small patches of plants but he hadn’t gone very far up the river bed. Hopefully, today that would change.

It didn’t. He returned to his tree empty-handed, not that he was too surprised. While he didn’t know where he was geographically, he knew that he had travelled quite far from the rivers he was familiar with.

That being said, that was one of his only plans for food. Although, he supposed he could steal from the haven. But he didn’t want to get caught again.

He was busy debating his options when his stomach rumbled. Right, he needed to eat.

He glanced towards the bag, debating whether it was worth it to eat whatever was inside of the thermos. After only a moment’s hesitation, he cracked open the lid, closing his eyes taking in the sweet scent of tomato soup. He checked inside and found what he assumed was about a bowl’s worth. He didn’t hesitate and gulped down half of it in one go. He regretted it immediately, but he resolved to make the second half last a lot longer.

He twisted the cap back on, making sure it was screwed tight, before settling in for the night. The sun was still up though it wouldbt be for much longer, the night was fast approaching. but he had decided that trying to get anything done past a certain time was useless.

If he could get to sleep before the cold settled in, he wouldn’t feel it as much. It was better to sleep early.

When he woke up the next day, he decided to spend the day slowly sipping at the soup. He didn’t know how long it would keep and he didn’t want it to go bad.

He winced as he took the first sip. It had already soured a bit. It would be fine, it just wouldn’t be very pleasant.

He decided that day that he would make a fire. They already knew where he was. A fire wouldn’t give anything away now. He went around collecting sticks, finding a good combination of smaller and larger sticks.

He arranged them in the way he always had when he realized a problem. He didn’t have matches or a lighter. He usually made sure to always carry one on him, but being kidnapped didn’t exactly leave him with that option.

He sat by the pile of sticks he had arranged his hand subconsciously twisting the manacle around his wrist.

He jumped slightly when he realized what he had been doing. He paused for a moment, wondering if he could start a fire.

He could call the elements to him, fire included. It would be weaker though, he remembered. But that was probably for the best. He didn’t have a fire, but he had rocks. If he could latch onto a spark, he might be able to make it into a fire.

But he didn’t know if he could control it.

But the fire sounded so nice.

The two sides of him warred on before a particularly cold gust of wind blew through his little clearing. He shivered and his resolve shattered.

He needed warmth.

He shoved his hand into his pocket, looking for the key he knew was in there. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the familiar metal against his palm.

He stuck the lock in the keyhole before he realized what he was doing. He snapped it away from the hole and tossed the key against the tree, scrambling back as if it had burned him.

How had he been so weak? If he used his Energy once, he would be willing to use it again and again until, eventually, someone got hurt. Like Tubbo.

He gave an angry shout and pulled his knees against his chest. This is exactly the kind of behaviour that had gotten Tubbo hurt last time! How was he about to make the same mistake?

He wasn’t about to let it happen.

Never again. Never again.

With that in mind, he slowly made his way to the key and picked it up. He was tempted to chuck it into the forest and make sure he never found it again, but he was too much of a coward, so he just pocketed it again.

He paced around the tree, wondering how he would be able to start fire out here.

Maybe, maybe, he could sneak back into the haven and steal food. He really shouldn't, but it was either or starve to death. He would make sure to stay out of everyone's way. He couldn't risk being caught.

He steeled his resolve as he made his decision. He had to, he hated that tis is what it had come down to, but he didn't have a choice.

So when the sun sank low, rather than go to bed like he usually would, he instead opened the water bottle and raised it to the last dying rays of sunshine and hoped for a safe night.

When he deemed the moon high enough to go stealing, he got down from his tree at his usual pace.

When he approached the haven, he slowed down and made his way, trying to be quieter.

He got through the door, his eyes constantly scanning the dark halls in front of him. His ears didn’t miss even the slightest creak in the floorboards.

He made his way to the kitchens and opened the fridge. He pulled out the burlap sack he had been given and started shoving everything he could in there. Techno knew what he was doing, so hopefully he would stop anyone from stopping him.

He didn’t know when he had started to trust Techno so much, especially after he had tackled him the first time around.

He looked at his haul, double-checking that he hadn’t pulled any cans or anything perishable and left.

On his way back, he took a detour to Tubbo’s room to check on him. He frowned when he saw that the door was partially open. He peeped in slowly and saw that the bed was empty.

He frowned before he continued down the hall. A little later, he heard voices coming from what he recognized as the meeting room from his brief tour of the haven. He then realized who could feel faintly in his mind. He must be in there.

“This isn’t up for debate. We need to go soon,” came Techno’s voice, sounding frustrated.

“I understand, but we still need to learn more about Cerulea before we go and just open up the portal all willy-nilly,” said Phil.

“Plus, we need the kid,” came an unfamiliar voice.

“I told you for the last time, Henrich, we are not dragging a poor traumatized kid out of hiding only to put him in danger,” Phil said firmly.

“But the legends say we need someone with Raw Energy to open it,” said the other voice again, Henrich presumably.

“Absolutely not,” Wilbur shouted. “That kid has done nothing but sacrifice himself for so long. He needs time right now, well really, he needs us, but he hasn’t realized that yet. But you are absolutely not making him do anything. 

“Besides, didn’t the legends say that he who opens the portal will face grave danger on the other side? He might die if he does this, we can’t ask him to go through that _again_.”

“The portal is collapsing. We have maybe a month before it starts destroying both worlds. We need to act fast, and if he dies he dies a hero, saviour of two worlds, a death in honour of our ancestors,” Henrich said urgently.

“Oh, you bas-,” Wilbur started.

“We need to start thinking about other options if time is so sensitive. We can’t just have it all hinging on a teenager,” Phil cut in placatingly.

“You don’t understand, do you? As a Pathfinder, I thought you would’ve listened to reason. I can feel it. Their souls, his soul, are connected to the portal. Their fates are intertwined,” Henrich yelled.

“I don’t think Fate is all that reliable. Besides, if he’s out there we can’t waste time looking for him,” said a new voice, female this time. It had a light accent of some sort but Tommy couldn’t tell from where.

“We need him Niki, you saw the same thing I did, you know it better than anyone in this room,” Henrich said tightly.

“What we need is to get ready. If your calculations are right, we need to leave this week, and we need to do research before we go,” Phil said.

The group murmured in agreement aside from Henrich, who grumbled angrily.

Tommy quickly ran down the hall knowing something, the end, was near for him. But until then, he would make sure it was a hell of a ride. And he would be a hero. Maybe he would be forgotten, but at least what he did would matter. 

He would keep an ear out on when they were moving out. He would follow them, a silent stowaway. He would do whatever needed to be done, he would live up to whatever cruel fate life had in store. He would try to live, he would try to come out the other side. 

But if he didnt, well, no one would miss him anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as I thank my beta, I really have to give a massive thanks to my readers. You guys keep me going, you guys make me want to make update. 
> 
> Even if you just read it and said nothing, or if you were a regular commenter (especially massive tanks to you guys, you make my day), I love all of you. So thank you, you made this possible. 
> 
> I hope to see you guys in the next fic.
> 
> Its name...
> 
> Rupture 
> 
> I hope you enjoy Rupture as much as you enjoyed Disturbanceé


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